i 


SELECT 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS 

OF  THE 

RELIGIOUS  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS, 

COMMONLY  CALLED 

aUAKERS; 

BEING 

A  SUCCINCT  ACCOUNT  OF  THEIR  CHARACTER  AND  COURSE  DURING 
THE  SEVENTEENTH  AND  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES. 

BY 

WILLIAM  HODGSON. 

"We  are  nothing;  Christ  is  all."  —  Geo.  Fox. 
SECOND  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  CO. 
1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1844,  by 
WILLIAM  HODGSON, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PREFATORY  REMARKS. 


There  are  many  thousands  of  the  descendants  of 
Friends  in  the  United  States  and  in  Great  Britain, 
who  know  very  little  of  the  true  character  or  history 
of  their  forefathers  as  a  church  of  Christ,  and  do  not 
by  any  means  realize  the  value  of  those  pure  principles 
of  primitive  Christianity,  which  the  "people  called 
Quakers,"  after  a  long  night  of  darkness  and  apostasy, 
and  the  dawning  of  a  better  day,  was  raised  up  to  re- 
vive in  the  view  of  the  various  denominations  of  pro- 
fessing Christians,  and  to  testify  to  ages  yet  to  come. 
A  considerable  proportion  of  these,  doubtless,  cherish  a 
respect  for  the  memory  of  their  ancestors,  and  would 
willingly,  if  they  could  readily,  know  more  than  it  has 
fallen  to  their  lot  to  know,  of  the  grounds  of  their  re- 
markable conscientious  position,  for  which  they  were 
made  willing  to  suffer  the  loss  of  property,  liberty, 
reputation,  and  all  the  usual  comforts  of  life,  and  even 
life  itself. 

The  author  of  the  following  work  has  had  this  class 

very  much  in  view  in  preparing  a  second  edition ;  and 

should  any  among  them  be  brought  through  its  means 

(iii) 


iv  PKEFATORY  REMARKS. 

to  a  deep  and  heartfelt  appreciation  of  the  gospel  truths 
advocated  by  those  servants  of  the  Lord  alluded  to  in 
its  pages,  so  as  not  only  to  assent  to  the  truth  of  their 
testimony,  but  to  be  made  willing  to  be  followers  of 
them  as  they  followed  Christ,  and  thus,  through  the 
Lord^s  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  obtain  the  end  of  their 
faith,  even  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  he  would  be 
amply  repaid  for  the  little  he  may  have  contributed  to 
so  happy  a  result. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

Introductory  remarks  on  the  character  of  the  primi- 
tive Christian  Church,  and  subsequent  corruptions,  11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Early  life  and  convincement  of  George  Fox  —  his 
call  to  the  ministry  —  and  imprisonment  —  called 
a  Quaker,  21 

CHAPTER  III. 

Account  of  some  of  the  doctrines  and  testimonies 
promulgated  by  the  founders  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Convincement  of  William  Dewsbury — and  Edward 

Burrough,  43 

CHAPTER  V. 

Convincement  of  Thomas  Thompson  —  and  further 

transactions  of  George  Fox,        ....  51 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Convincement  of  Francis  Howgill  —  George  White- 
head —  and  Judge  Fell's  family  —  George  Fox 
still  persecuted  —  first  convincements  in  London,  59 


vi 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII.  PAGB 

Rise  of  the  Society  in  Ireland  —  William  Edmund- 
son,   71 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Convincement  of  Humphrey  Bache,       ...  84 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Account  of  James  Parnell  —  he  dies  in  prison  — 

George  Fox  imprisoned  in  Launceston  jail,  .       .  91 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  convincement,  ministry,  and  fall  of  James  Nay- 

ler  —  his  repentance,  and  death,  ....  104 

CHAPTER  XL 

First  visits  of  Friends  to  America  —  cruel  persecu- 
tions in  New  England,  &c.,  115 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Martyrdom  of  William  Robinson,  Marmaduke  Ste- 
venson, Mary  Dyer,  and  William  Leddra  —  George 
Fox  imprisoned  in  Scarborough  Castle,       .       .  129 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Convincement  of  Richard  Davies,   ....  138 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

George  Robinson  goes  to  Jerusalem,  and  Mary  Fish- 
er to  Turkey,  153 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  sufferings  of  Catharine  Evans  and  Sarah  Chee- 
vers  in  the  inquisition  at  Malta  —  and  of  John 
Philly  and  William  Moore,  in  Hungary,  &c.,      .  156 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER  XVL  page 

Edward  Burrough  and  Richard  Hubberthorn,  being 
violently  seized  at  the  Biill-and-Mouth  Meeting, 
die  in  prison,  164 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  sufferings  of  Elizabeth  Hooton  and  others  in 

New  England,  170 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  extravagancies  of  John  Perrot,        .       .  .175 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Rise  of  the  Society  in  Scotland,      .       .       .  .179 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Account  of  Thomas  Lurting  and  the  Algerine  pi- 
rates,  191 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Death  of  Samuel  Fisher  —  account  of  his  convince- 

ment,  &c.,  199 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  sufferings  of  Richard  Seller,  for  his  testimony 
against  war,  on  board  the  flag-ship  "  Royal 
Prince,"       .  *^  .  203 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
"William  Penn's  early  life,  and  convincement,  .       .  211 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Remarkable  conversion  of  a  woman  imprisoned  for 

murder  —  death  of  Francis  Howgill  in  prison,    .  218 


viii 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  PAGE 

Meetings  for  discipline  instituted  in  the  Society  — 
George  Fox  goes  to  America  —  and  returning,  is 
imprisoned  at  Worcester,  223 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  trial  of  William  Penn  and  William  Mead  at 
the  Old  Bailey — destruction  of  Friends'  meeting- 
houses,  235 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  separation  of  Wilkinson  and  Story  —  and  the 

heresy  of  Jeffery  Bullock,  244 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
William  Penn's  travels  in  Holland  and  Germany,  .  249 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Account  of  Isaac  Penington,   .....  258 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Pennsylvania  granted  to  William  Penn — persecu- 
tion at  Bristol,  266 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  deaths  of  David  and  Robert  Barclay,  and  George 

Fox,  274 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  persecution  of  Friends  during  the  civil  wars  in 

Ireland,  in  the  reign  of  James  IL,       .       .       .  286 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
Account  of  Thomas  Story's  convincement,      .       .  299 


CONTENTS. 


ix 


CHAPTER  XXXIV.  page 
The  labors  of  Joseph  Pike  and  others  in  Ireland, 
for  a  reformation  from  the  spirit  and  habits  of  the 
world,  305 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
The  apostasy  of  George  Keith,       ....  310 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
Peter  Gardiner's  journey  to  Scotland,  and  death,     .  318 

CHAPTER  XXXVIL 
Samuel  Bownas  comes  forth  in  the  ministry  —  ac- 
count of  his  early  life  —  Friends'  peaceable  testi- 
mony maintained  during  the  Indian  wars  in  New 
England,  326 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
Shipwreck  and  remarkable  preservation  of  Susanna 
Morris  —  examples  of  zeal  and  simplicity  in  Ire- 
land,  335 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

The  trials  to  which  Friends  were  subjected  during  the 

American  revolutionary  war,       ....  340 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Rise  and  progress  of  the  Society's  testimony  against 

Slavery,  350 

CHAPTER  XLI. 
Account  of  John  Woolman,  359 

CHAPTER  XLII. 
Account  of  John  Churchman,         ....  371 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XLIII.  PAGE 

The  sufferings  of  Friends  in  Ireland,  during  the  re- 
bellion of  1798,  for  their  faithful  adherence  to  the 
principles  of  peace,  377 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
The  separation  in  Ireland  in  1799,  &c.,   .       .       .  391 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

Thomas  Shillitoe's  early  life  and  convincement  — 

his  remarkable  gospel  labors  in  Ireland,  &c.,       .  397 

Conclusion,  410 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS 

OF  THE 

RELIGIOUS  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS  ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,  AND  SUBSEQUENT  COR- 
RUPTIONS. 

THE  religion  instituted  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  and  spread  abroad  in  the  world  by  his  blessed 
Spirit  accompanying  the  labors  of  his  inspired  apostles,  was 
beautiful  for  its  simplicity  and  adaptation  to  man's  spirit- 
ual need.  The  preceding  Mosaic  dispensation,  while  it  en- 
joined devotion  of  heart  to  the  Creator,  according  to  the 
measure  of  light  vouchsafed,  was  nevertheless  characterized 
by  a  multitude  of  outward  observances,  suited  to  the  state 
of  the  people,  which  did  not  make  the  comers  thereunto 
perfect,  yet  pointed  to  the  substance  of  that  which  was  to 
follow.  But  when  our  blessed  Lord,  in  his  coming,  suffer- 
ings and  death,  had  fulfilled  and  abrogated  the  ceremonial 
requirements  of  the  law,  he  introduced  the  more  glorious 
dispensation  of  the  Gospel,  in  which  life  and  immortality, 
and  the  mysteries  of  redeeming  love,  were  brought  to  light. 
The  former  dispensation  was  outAvard  and  typical,  the  latter 
inward  and  spiritual;  in  which,  through  the  regenerating 
power  of  divine  grace,  the  heart  was  to  be  made  the  temple 

(11) 


12 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Christ  declared  himself  to  be  "the 
way,  the  truth  and  the  life ; "  that  no  man  can  come  to  the 
Father  but  by  Him;  and  that  "except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  It  was  not  in  outward 
appearance  only,  that  a  change  was  to  be  made  in  the  natu- 
ral man  ;  but  the  axe  was  to  be  laid  to  the  root  of  the  tree, 
and  every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit,  was  to  be 
hewn  down  and  cast  into  the  fire. 

The  lives  of  his  followers  were  to  be  characterized  by 
holiness,  and  watchfulness  unto  prayer ;  every  individual 
seeking  a  knowledge  of  God  for  himself,  instead  of  depend- 
ing on  a  class  of  men  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  exclusively 
conducting  the  affairs  of  religion,  as  had  prevailed  among 
the  heathen,  and  even  in  degree  among  the  Jews  themselves. 
This  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  way  of  life  was  to  be 
obtained  by  the  repenting  sinner,  through  inward  waiting 
of  the  soul  on  the  Lord  himself  in  humility  and  sincerity ; 
through  submission  to  the  cleansing  operations  of  the  "Word 
quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit;"  and 
through  unreserved  obedience  to  the  secret  manifestations 
of  the  Divine  Spirit,  which  was  promised  "to  lead  into 
all  truth."  The  disciples  were  distinctly  informed  by  the 
Saviour,  that  He  was  "  the  Light  of  the  world,"  and  that  He 
who  was  with  them  in  that  prepared  body,  should  henceforth 
be  in  them,  by  his  blessed  Spirit.  To  this  Light  therefore, 
even  Christ  in  them  the  hope  of  Glory,  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians looked,  as  the  great  Guide  of  life.  This  it  was  that 
was  to  "  sanctify  them  wholly ; "  so  that  all  were  to  be  "  kings 
and  priests  unto  God,"  and  to  seek  to  be  made  "perfect  as 
the  Father  who  is  in  Heaven  is  perfect." 

The  followers  of  our  crucified  Lord,  desirous  of  avoiding 
every  thing  that  might  minister  to  the  natural  vanity  of  the 
human  heart,  and  thus  imperceptibly  lead  away  from  that 
humility  which  was  known  to  be  an  essential  requisite  to 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


13 


the  character  of  a  true  Christian,  renounced  the  vanities  of 
the  world,  and  set  an  example  of  simplicity  in  life  and  con- 
duct. Xot  that  they  affected  singularity,  as  the  ascetics, 
hermits  and  monks  afterwards  did ;  but  remembering  the 
declaration  of  the  Saviour,  "  whosoever  doth  not  bear  his 
cross,  and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple,"  they  dared 
not  to  sanction  in  their  own  practice  any  incentives  to  a 
worldly  spirit,  or  the  gratification  of  "  the  lust  of  the  eye 
and  the  pride  of  life." 

Neither  dared  they,  in  defiance  of  the  law  of  universal 
love  taught  them  by  their  adorable  Redeemer,  to  cherish  in 
their  hearts  those  dispositions  which  lead  man  to  destroy  his 
fellow-man,  either  in  revenge  or  in  self-preservation.  War 
they  knew  to  be  prohibited  by  the  whole  tenor  of  "  the  gos- 
pel of  peace,"  no  less  than  by  the  positive  injunctions  of 
Him  who  said,  "  love  your  enemies — do  good  to  them  that 
hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and 
persecute  you."  Many  instances  of  deep  suffering  proved  the 
hold  which  this  peaceful  principle  had  on  the  minds  of  the 
early  believers.  We  need  hardly  cite  the  well  known  exam- 
ple of  the  martyr  Maximilian,  who,  even  in  the  third  century, 
nobly  declared  in  the  face  of  death,  that  "  because  he  ivas  a 
Christian^'  he  could  not  take  arms  nor  engage  in  war,  even 
though  at  the  command  of  the  Roman  proconsul ;  for  the 
refusal  to  fight  was  generally  acknowledged  to  be  a  distin- 
guishing feature  of  the  Christian  profession.* 

Their  outward  callings  were  to  be  such  as  should  not 
clash  with  their  testimony  to  purity  and  holiness  and  self- 
denial  ;  nor  were  they  at  liberty,  like  the  people  of  the 
heathen  world  around  them,  to  please  themselves  with  frivo- 

*  Tertullian  {De  CoronQ,  militis)  says  emphatically,  "Will  the  child 
of  peace  engage  in  battle,  to  whom  it  is  not  becoming  even  to  dis- 
pute with  his  fellow-men  at  law?"  —  "Faith  admits  not  the  plea  of 
necessity." 
2 


14 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


lous  amusements,  calculated  to  drown  serious  thought,  and 
call  away  their  attention  from  the  one  great  business  of  this 
life,  a  preparation  for  the  life  to  come.  Hence  the  primitive 
Christians  could  not  join  their  fellow-men  in  attending  the- 
atrical entertainments;  and  a  modern  European  author* 
declares :  "  It  was  no  uncommon  mark,  by  which  a  man's 
conversion  to  Christianity  was  ascertained,  that  he  wholly 
withdrew  from  the  theatre" — where  "much  took  place 
which  violated  the  moral  feelings  and  decencies  of  Chris- 
tians ;  and  even  where  this  was  not  the  case,  yet  even  then 
the  hour-long  pursuit  of  idle  and  vain  objects — the  unholy 
spirit  which  reigned  in  these  assemblies — the  wild  uproar 
of  the  collected  multitude,  seemed  hardly  to  suit  the  holy 
seriousness  of  the  Christian's  priestly  character." 

All  oaths  they  declined,  as  positively  forbidden  by  Christ 
and  his  apostle  James,  and  confined  themselves  to  a  simple 
affirmation  or  denial. 

Sincerity  and  Truth  were  indeed  stamped  upon  their  char- 
acter. Their  lives  and  actions  were  to  be  examples  of  the 
one,  and  all  their  words  of  the  other.  Hence  they  could 
not  address  their  fellow-man  in  the  plural  number,  as  if  he 
were  more  than  a  common  man  like  themselves;  a  practice 
which  then  began  to  prevail,  in  flattery  towards  the  empe- 
rors, and  soon  rapidly  spread  to  other  men  who  desired  the 
honor  or  deference  of  their  supposed  dependents. 

The  church  was  the  community  of  the  faithful  disciples 
of  Christ,  the  world  over — and  a  church  was  a  collection  of 
these  disciples  wherever  assembled,  under  the  presidency  of 
Christ  their  holy  head,  owning  no  other,  waiting  for  the  help 
and  guidance  of  His  blessed  Spirit,  and  moving  only  accord- 
ing to  the  pointings  of  His  heavenly  finger.    These,  being 

*  Neander,  of  Berlin,  author  of  a  "  History  of  the  Christian  Re- 
ligion and  Church."  See  also  Tertullian,  De  Spectaculis  ;"  and 
Cyprian,  Ep.  vi.  ad  Eucratium. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


15 


truly  gathered  in  His  name,  knew  Him  to  be  "  in  the  midst 
of  them." 

Their  ^vorship  was  to  be  spiritual  —  ''in  spirit  and  in 
truth."  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  to  be  "  not  in  the 
words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth,"  and  "  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
of  power."  As  it  was  to  be  "  freely  received  "  from  Him 
who  ascended  up  on  high  and  "  gave  gifts  unto  men,"  so  it 
was  to  be  freely  dispensed  to  the  people,  without  any  pe- 
cuniary consideration,  and  in  simple  reliance  on  the  open- 
ings of  the  divine  gift  from  time  to  time.  It  was  not  to  be 
dependent  on  school  learning  for  its  qualification,  nor  on  the 
will  of  man  for  its  appointment ;  but  the  preacher  of  the 
gospel  was  to  be  "  called  of  God  as  was  Aaron ; "  and,  whether 
male  or  female,  was  to  "  minister  in  the  ability  which  God 
giveth."  A  state  of  silent  waiting  before  the  Lord  was 
evidently  the  right  posture  of  mind  in  which  his  poor  and 
dependent  creatures  should  appear  before  Him,  and  essential 
to  the  performance  of  divine  worship.  There  can  be  no 
question  that  their  devotional  exercises  were  of  the  most 
simple  nature,  consisting  primarily  of  this  waiting  together 
on  the  God  of  their  lives,  and  secondly  of  prayer  and  praise 
to  the  author  of  all  good,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom,  for  the  edification  of  the  churches  or  the  conver- 
sion of  men.  And  that  these  exercises  were  extempore — 
without  previous  preparation — there  ncA^er  has  been  a  doubt. 

Equally  certain  is  it,  that  those  who  were  exercised 
among  them  as  pastoi-s,  teachers  or  apostles,  claimed  no 
salary  or  emolument  as  the  price  of  their  services ;  but  gen- 
erally obtained  their  temporal  subsistence  by  their  own 
exertions,  in  common  with  their  brethren;  though  when 
actually  prevented  from  attending  to  their  outward  affairs, 
by  travelling  in  the  service  of  the  Gospel,  they  considered 
themselves  at  liberty  to  partake  of  the  hospitality  of  the 
churches,  freely  offered  for  their  accommodation. 


16 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


For  a  time,  the  chiirch  continued  practically  to  carry 
out  these  principles ;  and  some  of  them  were  even  for  sev- 
eral ages  generally  acknowledged.  But  a  change  came 
gradually  over  this  pure  and  simple  state.  Not  that  the 
system  of  religion  instituted  by  the  divine  author  of  Chris- 
tianity was  less  calculated  in  its  simple  form  for  an  ad- 
vanced state  of  civilization  than  for  the  condition  of  the 
world  when  the  Son  of  God  appeared  in  the  prepared  body. 
A  most  admirable  feature  of  genuine  Christianity  is  its 
perfect  adaptation  to  man  in  every  state  of  mental  ad- 
vancement, and  in  all  possible  variety  of  outward  circum- 
stances. But  man's  natural,  unregenerate  will  is  ever  seek- 
ing an  easier  way  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  than  the  way 
of  the  cross  and  of  unreserved  obedience  to  the  Light  of 
Christ  shining  in  the  heart.  And  as  the  community  of 
professing  Christians  became  more  and  more  composed  in 
part  of  individuals  who  had  received  their  profession  by 
birth,  and  not  by  the  thorough  heart-searching  work  of 
conversion,  this  feature  of  seeking  an  easier  way,  rapidly 
gained  ground;  and  the  life  of  religion  being  much  lost, 
form  usurped  the  place  of  power. 

We  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  at  the  present  day,  at 
what  time  the  system  of  hiring  the  services  of  preachers 
crept  into  the  church ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  it 
commenced  at  an  early  date  after  the  decease  of  the  apos- 
tles, and  of  those  who  had  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  personal 
association  with  them.  The  necessity  for  all  to  be  "kings 
and  priests  unto  God,"  in  all  holiness  and  spiritual  conver- 
sation, was  gladly  forgotten  by  the  seekers  after  ease;  and 
it  was  found  much  more  agreeable  to  the  carnal  mind  and 
inclinations,  to  fall  back  upon  the  old  practice  of  a  priest- 
hood, and  depend  on  the  ceremonial  exercises  and  perform- 
ances which  others  could  do  for  them,  than  to  "work  out 
their  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling." 

A  class  of  men  was  accordingly  set  apart,  whose  business 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


17 


it  should  be  to  take  the  {euro)  care  of  souls;  and  this  class 
soon  arrogantly  assuming  the  epithet  of  clergy,  (sc^jypo?,  in- 
heritance or  lot,^)  as  if  they  only  were  the  "Lord's  portion" 
and  the  "  lot  of  his  inheritance,"  disdained  to  obtain  their 
livelihood  by  labor  or  common  business;  but  professing 
that  their  time  must  be  entirely  taken  up  in  caring  for 
those  dependent  on  them  for  "the  means  of  grace,"  claimed 
to  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  community.  Thus 
did  a  hireling  priesthood  supplant  both  the  free  unpaid 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  and  the  individual  priestly  charac- 
ter of  the  spiritual  Christian;  and  thus  was  a  wide  door 
opened,  both  for  further  corruptions  in  the  profession  of 
Christianity,  and  for  relaxation  of  the  solemn  responsibil- 
ities resting  upon  each  individual. 

When  once  the  hireling  ministers  had  established  them- 
selves in  the  professing  Christian  church,  they  were  not 
slow  in  discovering  that  their  influence  over  the  flock,  and 
consequently  their  pecuniary  interest,  would  be  greatly  en- 
hanced by  the  introduction  of  one  ceremonial  performance 
after  another  as  necessary  to  salvation  or  edification.  In- 
stead, therefore,  of  guarding  the  profession  of  religion  from 
innovation,  they  eagerly  promoted  various  corruptions; 
which  gradually  changed  Christianity  (so  called)  from  the 
character  of  a  pure  and  spiritual,  heart-searching  and 
heart-cleansing  religion,  to  that  of  a  system  of  lifeless  per- 
formances, "  which  could  never  make  the  comers  thereunto 
perfect." 

*  "  Citrus  (a  K^poi,  sors,  quia  clerus  sors  Dei,  vel  cleri  sors  Deus,)  — 
the  clergy  or  churchmen.  Hcec  notio  apud  Latinos  scripiores,  S.  Hie- 
ronymi  temporibus  paulo  antiquior.^^  (Beat son  &  Ellis's  Ains worth.) 
So  also  Neander ;  '-The  Greek  names  «X>)poi  and  kXtipikoi  had  even  in 
Cyprian's  time  been  applied  in  an  unevangelic  sense,  &c., —  'oi  eiat  'o 
«Xj7pos  Tou  Qeov,  or,  'wv  'o  KXripog  'o  Qeo;  'ean  —  in  imitation  of  the  Le- 
vites."  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church,  vol.  1, 
Sect.  ii.  i.  B.) 


18 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


Undoubtedly  there  were  other  causes  which  contributed 
to  this  mournful  result.  Originally,  Christians  had  be- 
lieved that  all  days  were  to  be  kept  alike  holy  unto  the 
Lord — though  the  church  was  wont  to  come  together  at 
stated  times — more  especially  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week — for  divine  wwship,  religious  edification,  and  mu- 
tual encouragement  for  good.  This  principle  of  the  neces- 
sity of  holiness  and  mental  introversion  every  day  of  our 
lives,  was  manifestly  calculated  to  incite  the  mind  to  con- 
tinual watchfulness  as  in  the  presence  of  the  omniscient 
Lord,  and  thus  to  promote  the  entire  purification  of  man's 
nature.  But  gradually,  as  the  institution  of  a  caste  of 
priests  took  place  of  the  maintenance  of  the  doctrine  that 
all  are  called  to  be  "  priests  unto  God,"  so  the  doctrine  that 
one  day  was  more  holy  than  another,  took  the  place  of 
keeping  all  days  holy ;  and  the  notion  consequently  gained 
ground,  that  on  the  six  working-days  of  the  week,  men  were 
not  required  to  be  so  inward  and  spiritual  in  their  minds, 
nor  so  -pure  in  their  lives  and  conduct,  as  on  the  one  which 
was  more  particularly  set  apart  for  religious  purposes. 

Another  source  of  the  corruptions  of  the  church  was  the 
desire  to  make  the  way  easier  for  heathens  to  embrace 
nominal  Christianity.  In  pursuance  of  this  object,  many 
heathen  ceremonies  were  engrafted  under  new  names  into 
the  system  of  Christianity,  and  some  even  of  their  idola- 
trous "holy  days"  were  incorporated  into  the  Christian  cal- 
endar, under  the  pretended  patronage  of  "  Christian  saints," 
instead  of  the  heathen  deities.  This  made  the  change  from 
heathenism  to  the  new  profession  comparatively  nominal, 
and  introduced  great  multitudes  into  the  visible  church, 
who  were  destitute  of  the  spirit  and  life  of  Christianity. 

This  result,  as  well  as  the  priestly  influence,  was  greatly 
increased  by  the  Emperor  Constantine's  adoption  and  pat- 
ronage of  the  Christian  religion ;  the  power  of  money  and 
worldly  rank  and  authority,  being  thrown  by  that  event 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


19 


into  the  hands  of  its  professors,  it  became  thenceforth,  with 
only  occasional  and  temporary  exceptions,  the  religion  of 
the  state,  and  the  ^Yhole  Roman  Empire  appeared  as  the 
protector  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  Men  did  not  perceive 
how  much  this  religion  was  changed  from  the  state  of  pu- 
rity and  simplicity  in  which  it  emanated  from  the  Lip  of 
Truth.  It  is  true,  the  Almighty  had  not  left  himself  with- 
out witnesses  for  his  Truth  in  all  times  of  the  world;  many 
sincere-hearted  ones  here  and  there  were  touched  by  the 
power  and  light  of  his  blessed  Spirit,  and  bore  from  time 
to  time  a  faithful  testimony  against  the  idolatry  and  super- 
stition which  had  usurped  the  place  of  Christ.  But  they 
were  comparatively  few,  and  were  not  able  to  stem  the  tor- 
rent of  bigotry  and  corruption  which  overwhelmed  the 
church. 

Rome  now  became  the  centre  of  (so-called)  religious 
influence  and  power ;  and  these  corruptions  were,  from  mo- 
tives of  human  policy,  amazingly  multiplied  during  a  long 
succession  of  ages.  But  the  human  mind  was  at  length 
awakened,  and  public  attention  was  directed  to  the  corrupt 
state  of  the  profession  of  Christianity.  The  reformation 
from  Popery,  which  took  place  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
freed  a  great  part  of  Europe  from  many  of  the  most  glaring 
perversions  of  Christian  doctrine  and  practice ;  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Divine  Hand  promoted  this  great 
revolution,  and  guided,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  proceedings 
of  those  engaged  in  the  work. 

It  appears,  however,  that  even  the  pious  and  enlightened 
men  who  were  instruments  in  bringing  about  this  mighty 
change,  stopped  short  of  arriving  at  an  unclouded  view  of 
the  nature  of  primitive  Christianity.  Excellent  as  were 
many  of  their  spirits,  and  far  advanced  as  they  were  before 
their  fellow-professors  of  the  name  of  Christ,  and  thirsting 
as  they  did  after  a  redemption  of  the  world  from  the  gross 
pollutions  of  Popery,  they  were  nevertheless  trammelled  in 


20 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


some  degree  with  the  dogmas  of  their  school  education,  and 
weakened  by  their  dependence  on  the  arm  of  flesh  for 
support,  and  gave  not  themselves  up  unreservedly  to  the 
thorough  operations  of  that  Holy  Comforter  in  the  secret 
of  the  soul,  which,  as  it  is  faithfully  attended  to,  guides 
"  into  all  truth."  They  nobly  stepped  forward,  and  claimed 
a  place  in  the  attention  of  mankind  for  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  the  Papacy  had  shut  up  as  a  book  not  fit  for  general 
perusal ;  and  this  was  a  great  point  gained.  But  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  they  did  not  sufficiently  regard  the  all  important 
truth,  that  these  Holy  Scriptures  themselves  point  to  a  higher 
rule  than  their  own  pages,  for  the  direction  of  the  mind  of 
man,  even  the  manifestations  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  the 
soul,  by  whose  Light  alone  the  heavenly  mysteries  contained 
in  them  are  to  be  rightly  understood.  In  considering  the 
Holy  Scriptures  as  the  "word  of  God,"  and  the  primary 
guide  of  life  and  rule  of  faith,  they  fell  into  the  error  of 
valuing  the  branch  above  its  parent  stem ;  an  error  w^hich 
prevented  them  from  seeing  clearly  the  whole  beauty,  and 
excellency,  and  purity,  and  spirituality  of  the  gospel  dis- 
pensation. 

They  boldly  opposed  the  groundless  assumption  of  the 
Pope  to  be  the  head  of  the  church,  and  dragged  to  shame 
the  enormities  practised  by  the  priesthood  in  the  name  of 
religion  and  for  the  sake  of  filthy  lucre.  But  they  went  not 
down  to  the  root  of  the  evil — to  destroy  the  whole  system 
of  hireling  ministry — so  that  what  they  deemed  the  gospel, 
still  continued  to  be  bought  and  sold ;  and  the  result  was  as 
might  have  been  anticipated,  that  a  priesthood  whose  tem- 
poral subsistence  depended  on  the  implicit  confidence  placed 
in  them  by  the  people,  still  retained  that  people  more  or  less 
in  the  outward  court,  in  a  state  of  blind  reliance  on  them 
and  their  external  performances,  "  ever  learning,  but  never 
able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth." 

It  was  accordingly  reserved  in  the  counsels  of  inscrutable 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


21 


wisdom,  for  weak  and  despised  men,  in  the  eye  of  the  world, 
to  be  the  instruments  by  whom  the  attention  of  mankind 
should  be  powerfully  directed  to  the  inward  principle  of 
religion,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  operatmg  in  every  heart,  and 
the  church  should  be  called  back  to  a  state  of  purity  and 
spirituality,  such  as  characterized  it  in  the  days  of  the 
apostles  and  primitive  believers. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EARLY   LIFE   AND    COXVINCEMENT  OF  GEORGE  FOX  HIS 

CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY  AND  IMPRISONMENT  CALLED 

A  QUAKER. 

IT  was  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that 
the  Lord  was  pleased  to  visit  the  British  nation,  and 
some  other  portions  of  professing  Christendom,  with  a  more 
clear  and  certain  sound  of  the  word  of  life,  and  proclama- 
tion of  the  way  of  salvation,  than  had  been  known  for  many 
ages  past. 

That  nation  was  still  heaving  in  great  unsettlement,  from 
the  effects  of  the  awful  storm  which  had  uprooted  the  foun- 
dations of  its  ancient  social,  religious,  and  political  estab- 
lishments, deprived  Charles  the  First  of  his  throne  and  life, 
and  placed  Oliver  Cromwell  at  the  head  of  the  English 
commonwealth.  As,  under  Charles,  great  laxity  of  morals 
and  neglect  of  duty  had  prevailed  among  the  ministers  of 
the  "  established  church,"  many  of  whom  had  given  them- 
selves up  to  idle  and  licentious  practices ;  so  on  the  other 
hand,  when  these  were  turned  out,  to  give  place  to  the  Puri- 
tans under  the  commonwealth,  great  outward  strictness  and 


22 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


loud  pretensions  to  sanctity,  often  unaccompanied  by  the 
real  life  of  religion,  were  the  road  to  preferment,  and  were 
consequently  in  many  instances  assumed  as  a  mere  cloak 
over  a  worldly  spirit,  from  ambitious  view^s. 

The  profession  of  religion,  nevertheless,  was  certainly  held 
in  much  higher  esteem  than  before.  In  the  camp,  as  well 
as  at  the  fire-side,  religion  was  the  absorbing  topic.  The 
republican  army  abounded  with  preachers ;  and  preaching, 
praying,  and  disputing  on  doctrines,  were  daily  to  be  heard 
among  both  officers  and  soldiers :  though  much  of  this  was 
extremely  superficial,  and  a  pharisaical  notion  of  soundness, 
and  contempt  for  others,  too  much  prevailed. 

The  spirit  of  inquiry,  however,  which  had  arisen  with  the 
reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  had  greatly  shaken 
the  general  confidence  in  the  priesthood ;  men  now  con- 
sidered themselves  at  liberty  to  form  their  own  opinions  on 
matters  relating  to  their  eternal  condition ;  and  the  public 
assemblies  for  divine  worship  were  continually  scenes  of 
religious  dispute  between  the  contending  parties.  The  late 
intestine  wars,  with  the  troubles  thereby  brought  on  many 
families  throughout  the  nation,  were  instrumental  in  turning 
the  minds  of  some  to  an  anxious  desire  after  a  resting-place 
for  the  agitated  soul.  There  were  those  who  had  learned  in 
sore  adversity,  duly  to  estimate  the  emptiness  and  uncer- 
tainty of  all  the  gratifications  of  this  world,  and  to  pant 
after  a  knowledge  of  the  Source  and  Centre  of  happiness 
and  peace.  And  the  Lord  left  not  to  themselves  these  sin- 
cere-hearted seekers  after  a  solid  foundation  for  their  hopes; 
but  led  many  of  them  into  greater  degrees  of  spiritual- 
mindedness ;  in  which  they  were  enabled  to  perceive  and 
feel  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  those  forms  of  religion, 
which,  notwithstanding  the  partial  reformation  from  Popery, 
still  stood  in  the  place  of  pure  and  primitive  Christianity. 
But  these  were  scattered  abroad  in  the  country,  as  sheep 
having  no  shepherd  nor  fold ;  they  were  unknown  to  each 


1024.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


23 


other,  and  not  gathered  into  the  enclosure  of  a  visible  society 
professing  what  their  souls  yearned  after.  They  knew  not 
but  that  they  were  alone  in  the  deep  exercise  and  spiritual 
travail  which  they  experienced ;  and  consequently  they 
hailed  as  a  most  welcome  message  the  testimony  borne  by 
George  Fox  and  his  fellow-laborers  to  pure  and  spiritual 
religion.  They  found  a  life  and  savor  in  his  ministry  very 
different  from  the  dead  and  formal  discourses  to  which  they 
had  been  wont  to  listen ;  which  was  a  cordial  to  their  pant- 
ing spirits,  and  led  them  to  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of 
that  Divine  and  inspeaking  Word  whom  their  souls  had 
sincerely  loved  and  earnestly  waited  for. 

George  Fox,  the  honored  instrument  of  gathering  these 
scattered  and  retired  ones  into  a  visible  church,  was  born  at 
Drayton,  in  Leicestershire,  England,  in  the  year  1624.  His 
father  was  noted  for  the  justice  and  honesty  of  his  character, 
and  his  mother,  who  was  of  the  stock  of  the  martyrs,  was  a 
woman  accomplished  above  most  of  her  station  in  the  place 
of  their  residence.  From  a  child,  George  displayed  a 
remarkably  religious,  inward,  quiet  frame  of  mind.  At 
the  same  time  he  was  observing,  even  beyond  his  years,  fre- 
quently to  the  astonishment  of  those  who  heard  and  con- 
versed with  him,  especially  on  religious  topics.  He  was 
brought  up  in  country  business,  and  was  skilful  in  the  tend- 
ing of  sheep ;  an  employment  which  well  suited  a  mind 
seeking  after  solitude  and  innocency,  and  was  a  just  emblem 
of  his  subsequent  ministry  and  service  in  the  fold  of  Christ. 
The  restraining  and  sanctifying  operations  of  Divine  Grace 
were  experienced  by  him  whilst  very  young ;  and  the  Lord 
taught  him  to  be  faithful  in  all  things,  inwardly  to  God,  and 
outwardly  to  man.  His  own  account  says  that  when  he  was 
about  eleven  years  of  age,  he  experienced  pureness  and 
righteousness ;  he  was  taught  to  keep  strictly  to  the  truth 
in  all  things,  not  daring  to  use  the  least  degree  of  prevari- 
cation :  his  words  were  to  be  few  and  savory,  seasoned  with 


24 


HISTOEICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1643. 


grace  ;  and  he  was  to  observe  temperance  both  in  eating  and 
drinking,  using  the  creatures  of  God  as  servants  in  their 
places,  to  the  glory  of  Him  who  created  them. 

When  he  was  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  being  on  busi- 
ness at  a  fair,  his  mind  was  greatly  distressed,  in  observing 
the  wantonness  of  some  professors  of  religion,  who  scrupled 
not  to  indulge  themselves  in  excess  of  drinking,  and  what  is 
termed  drinking  of  healths.  He  bore  his  testimony  against 
their  folly,  and  went  away  ;  but  could  not  rest  the  following 
night,  which  he  spent  in  walking  up  and  down,  and  in 
prayer  to  the  Lord.  He  was  answered  by  this  divine  inti- 
mation :  "  Thou  seest  how  young  people  go  together  into 
vanity,  and  old  people  into  the  earth ;  thou  must  forsake 
all,  both  young  and  old,  and  keep  out  of  all,  and  be  a 
stranger  unto  all."  Soon  after  this,  he  believed  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  leave  his  relations,  and  for  some  time  he  led  a  soli- 
tary life,  intimately  communing  with  none  but  his  Maker 
and  Redeemer;  and  was  thus  gradually  weaned  from  all 
dependence  on  his  fellow-man,  in  matters  relating  to  the 
safety  of  the  soul.  He  travelled  through  various  counties 
of  England,  avoiding  the  company  of  the  high  but  empty 
professors  of  religion  ;  and  many  were  the  deep  exercises  and 
sore  temptations  which  befell  him  for  several  months ;  in 
which  he  was  led  to  review  his  past  life,  and  consider  whether 
his  own  wrong  doings  were  the  cause  of  his  present  distress. 
He  knew  not  at  that  time  that  those  deep  baptisms  of  spirit 
were  necessary  to  prepare  him  for  the  work  whereunto  his 
Master  was  about  to  call  him.  After  a  while,  being  fearful 
that  his  long  absence  might  grieve  his  relations,  he  returned 
home,  and  continued  there  with  some  intermission,  for  more 
than  a  year,  in  great  sorrows  and  troubles,  often  spending 
the  night  in  walking  alone,  and  in  religious  meditation. 

Some  of  the  priests  of  the  neighborhood  sought  his 
acquaintance,  and  reasoned  with  him  at  various  times  on 
religious  subjects,  but  could  give  him  no  satisfaction.  In 


164:5.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIEXDS. 


25 


their  carnal  wisdom  they  knew  not  his  condition,  and  could 
not  understand  the  nature  of  his  mental  conflicts.  One  bid 
him  take  tobacco,  and  sing  psalms.  Another,  who  was 
accounted  an  experienced  man,  he  says  he  found  only  like 
an  empty  hollow  cask.  A  third  disgusted  him  by  his 
unchecked  passionate  temper,  ruffled  by  the  least  trifle, 
showing  the  possessor  to  be  far  from  that  state  of  meekness 
and  calmness  which  would  have  become  his  profession.  A 
fourth  priest  advised  medicine  and  bleeding ;  so  that  George 
found  them  miserable  comforters,  and  entirely  ignorant  of 
his  need. 

One  of  his  interviews  with  Kathaniel  Stevens,  the  priest 
of  Drayton,  with  whom  he  often  conversed,  and  who  fre- 
quently made  the  observations  of  this  enlightened  youth 
serve  as  embellishments  of  his  o^vn  sermons,  is  worthy  of 
particular  notice.  This  priest  asked  George,  why  Christ 
cried  out  upon  the  cross,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?  "  and  why  he  said,  "  If  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me;  yet  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done.'* 
George  told  him,  "  that  at  that  time  the  sins  of  all  mankind 
were  upon  Him,  and  their  iniquities  and  transgressions ; 
with  which  He  was  wounded,  which  He  was  to  bear,  and  to 
be  an  ofiering  for  as  He  was  man,  but  he  died  not  as  He  was 
God ;  and  so,  in  that  He  died  for  all  men,  and  tasted  death 
for  every  man.  He  was  an  offering  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world."  This,  he  says,  he  spoke,  being  then  in  measure 
sensible  of  Christ's  sufferings,  and  what  he  went  through ; 
and  the  priest  remarked  that  "  it  was  a  very  good  answer, 
and  such  as  he  had  not  heard."  This  comprehensive  reply 
to  the  inquiring  priest,  who  with  all  his  learned  ^preparation 
for  the  ministry,  could  not  understand  the  mysteries  of 
redeeming  love,  furnishes  abundant  refutation  of  the  calumny 
by  which  George  Fox  has  been  maliciously  charged  in 
modern  times  with  unsoundness  in  the  very  fundamental 
articles  of  the  Christian  faith.  It  shows,  in  a  manner  not 
3 


26 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1647. 


to  be  contradicted,  that  this  heavenly-minded  man  had  a 
clear  and  full  belief  in  the  Saviour  as  the  eternal  Son  of 
God,  and  yet  as  having  partaken  also  of  the  nature  of  man ; 
in  the  sacrifice  which  He  made  of  himself  upon  the  cross  for 
the  sins  of  mankind  ;  and  in  the  atoning  virtue  and  univer- 
sal efficacy  of  this  sacrifice  to  the  redemption  of  the  souls 
of  men,  through  living  faith  and  obedience  to  His  Divine 
Light  in  the  heart.  And  that  this  sound  belief  in  these 
important  doctrines  was  not  merely  the  belief  of  George 
Fox's  youthful  days,  is  proved  by  his  thus  fully  recording 
this  transaction  in  after-life. 

During  this  time  of  opening  manhood,  not  only  was  he 
exercising  himself  in  the  duties  of  Christian  benevolence  to 
his  destitute  fellow-creatures,  but  his  mind  was  enlarging  in 
experience,  and  in  acquaintance  with  the  doctrines  of  pure 
Christianity,  as  distinguished  from  the  systems  taught  in  the 
schools  and  colleges.  Pie  was  enabled  to  see  that  notwith- 
standing men's  high  professions,  none  were  true  believers  but 
those  w^ho  "  were  born  of  God  and  passed  from  death  unto 
life,"  and  that  being  brought  up  at  the  universities  or  col- 
leges was  not  enough  to  qualify  a  man  to  be  a  minister  of 
Christ.  Here  again  he  was  brought  off  from  a  reliance  on 
any  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  great  Minister  of  minis- 
ters, who  would  teach  his  people  himself  He  was  also 
shown  that  he  was  not  to  apply  the  word  church  or  temjjle  of 
God  to  any  building ;  the  Lord,  according  to  the  apostle's 
testimony,  dwelling  in  the  heart  of  man  and  making  that 
his  temple,  and  a  church  of  Christ  being  a  collection  of 
living  disciples,  not  the  w^alls  within  w^hich  they  or  others 
might  assemble.* 

Early  in  the  year  1647,  he  felt  an  impression  of  duty  to 
travel  into  Derbyshire  and  some  parts  of  the  counties  of 

*  ''Not  the  place,  but  the  congregation  of  the  elect,  I  call  a 
church." — Clement  of  Alexandria,  Stromal,  vii.  715  B. 


1647.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


27 


Leicester  and  Nottingham.  He  met  with  some  serious 
friendly  people,  of  tender  spirits,  among  whom  he  "had 
some  meetings  and  discourses."  But  his  mental  exercises 
still  continued.  "I  fasted  much,"  says  he,  "and  walked 
abroad  in  solitary  places  many  days,  and  often  took  my 
Bible  and  went  and  sat  in  hollow  trees  and  lonesome  places 
till  night  came  on ;  and  frequently,  in  the  night,  walked 
mournfully  about  by  myself ;  for  I  was  a  man  of  sorrows,  in 
the  times  of  the  first  workings  of  the  Lord  in  me."  During 
all  this  time  he  kept  himself  much  as  a  stranger,  "  seeking 
heavenly  wisdom  and  getting  knowledge  from  the  Lord ; 
and  w^as  brought  off  from  outward  things,  to  rely  wholly  on 
the  Lord  alone."  He  was  here  instructed  that  Christ  Jesus 
was  he  who  could  speak  effectually  to  his  condition.  He 
was  made  a  partaker  also,  at  times,  notwithstanding  his  deep 
and  long-continued  provings,  of  that  joy  and  peace,  which 
is  peculiarly  the  Christian's  portion;  in  which  he  could 
exclaim:  "Thou  killest  and  makest  alive;  all  honor  and 
glory  be  to  thee,  O  Lord  of  glory !"  Thus  his  desires  after 
the  Lord  grew  stronger,  and  zeal  in  the  pure  knowledge  and 
love  of  God,  which  surpasses  all  the  knowledge  that  men 
have  in  the  natural  state,  or  can  obtain  by  history  or  books. 
And  being  by  these  deep  baptisms  weaned  from  all  confi- 
dence in  his  own  powers,  his  mind  became  more  and  more 
divinely  enlightened  to  understand  the  mysteries  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  many  deep  things  therein  being  clearly  opened 
to  him  ;  as  well  as  the  dark  state  of  the  j)rofessors  of  religion 
generally,  who  could  talk  greatly  of  Christ  and  of  his  blood, 
and  yet  knew  it  not  in  their  own  experience,  but  trampled 
upon  it  in  their  airy  notions,  and  fed  upon  the  words  of 
man's  own  wisdom,  or  such  as  they  had  stolen  out  of  the 
Scriptures  of  Truth. 

During  this  year  (1647)  his  mouth  appears  to  have  been 
first  ojpened  of  the  Lord  in  gospel  ministry.  Several  per- 
sons in  the  parts  where  he  travelled  were  convinced  of  the 


28 


HISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1647. 


truth,  and  united  with  him  in  the  bonds  of  the  Gospel. 
And  in  the  year  following  they  began  to  have  great  meet- 
ings of  the  people,  and  a  mighty  power  and  work  of  God 
there  was  among  them,  to  the  astonishment  of  both  people 
and  priests.  At  this  time  he  was  an  example  of  silence, 
endeavoring  to  bring  people  from  self-performances;  testi- 
fying of,  and  turning  them  to  the  light  of  Christ  within 
them,  and  encouraging  them  to  wait  in  patience,  and  to 
feel  the  power  of  it  to  stir  in  their  hearts,  that  their  knowl- 
edge and  worship  of  God  might  stand  in  the  power  of  an 
endless  life,  which  w^as  to  be  found  in  the  light,  as  it  was 
obeyed  in  the  manifestation  of  it  in  man.  He  was  led  to 
see  clearly,  and  to  open  to  those  who  heard  him  discourse, 
these  three  great  practical  truths;  that  all  men  are  called 
and  may  be  enabled  to  be  perfect,  or  free  from  the  power 
as  well  as  guilt  of  sin  —  that  none  can  understand  the 
Scriptures  aright,  without  the  assistance  of  the  same  Spirit 
by  which  they  were  written  —  and  that  every  man  is  en- 
lightened by  the  divine  Light  of  Christ,  which  would  lead 
all  to  salvation  if  its  manifestations  were  humbly  and  faith- 
fully obeyed.  And  when  he  observed  drowsiness  upon  the 
people  when  they  ought  to  have  been  watching  unto  prayer 
and  looking  to  the  Lord,  he  told  them  "  they  must  come  to 
witness  death  to  that  sleepy,  heavy  nature,  and  a  cross  to 
it  in  the  power  of  God,  that  their  minds  and  hearts  might 
be  on  things  above. 

He  now  received  an  intimation  from  the  Lord  that  he 
was  to  go  forth  more  publicly  into  the  world  at  large,  to 
preach  the  Word  of  life,  which  he  had  received;  and  it 
may  be  Avell  to  hear  his  own  account  of  the  nature  of  his 
Christian  ministry. 

"I  was  sent,"  he  says,  "to  turn  people  from  darkness  to 
light,  that  they  might  receive  Christ  Jesus.  I  was  to  direct 
people  to  the  Spirit,  that  gave  forth  the  Scriptures,  by 
which  they  might  be  led  into  all  truth,  and  so  up  to  Christ 


1647.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


29 


and  God,  as  they  had  been  who  gave  them  forth.  I  was  to 
turn  them  to  the  grace  of  God,  and  to  the  truth  in  the 
heart,  which  came  by  Jesus. —  I  saw  that  Christ  died  for  all 
men,  and  was  a  propitiation  for  all,  and  enlightened  all 
men  and  women  by  his  divine  and  saving  light,  and  that 
none  could  be  a  true  believer  but  who  believed  in  it. — With 
and  by  this  divine  power  and  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  light 
of  Jesus,  I  was  to  bring  people  off  from  all  their  own  ways, 
to  Christ  the  new  and  living  way ;  and  from  their  churches, 
which  men  had  made  and  gathered,  to  the  church  in  God, 
the  general  assembly  written  in  heaven,  which  Christ  is  the 
head  of ;  and  off  from  the  world's  teachers,  made  by  men, 
to  learn  of  Christ,  who  is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life ; 
of  whom  the  Father  said,  '  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  hear  ye 
Him ; '  and  off  from  all  the  world's  worships,  to  know  the 
Spirit  of  Truth  in  the  inward  parts,  and  to  be  led  thereby ; 
that  in  it  they  might  worship  the  Father  of  spirits,  who 
seeks  such  to  worship  him. — And  I  was  to  bring  people  off 
from  all  the  world's  religions,  which  are  vain;  that  they 
might  know  the  pure  religion,  might  visit  the  fatherless, 
the  widows,  and  the  strangers,  and  keep  themselves  from 
the  spots  of  the  world.  —  I  was  to  bring  them  off  from  all  the 
world's  fellowships,  and  prayings,  and  singings,  which  stood 
in  forms  without  power ;  that  their  fellowship  might  be  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  the  eternal  Spirit  of  God ;  that  they 
might  pray  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  sing  in  the  spirit  and 
with  the  grace  that  comes  by  Jesus ;  making  melody  in 
their  hearts  to  the  Lord,  who  hath  sent  his  beloved  Son  to 
be  their  Saviour,  and  caused  his  heavenly  sun  to  shine 
upon  all  the  world.  I  was  to  bring  people  off  from  Jewish 
ceremonies,  and  from  heathenish  fables,  and  from  men's  in- 
ventions and  worldly  doctrines — with  their  schools  and 
colleges  for  making  ministers  of  Christ,  who  are  indeed 
ministers  of  their  own  making,  but  not  of  Christ's ;  and 
from  all  their  images  and  crosses,  and  sprinkling  of  infants, 
3* 


80 


HISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1649. 


with  all  their  holy  days  (so  called)  and  all  their  vain  tra- 
ditions which  they  had  gotten  up  since  the  apostles'  days, 
which  the  Lord's  power  was  against ;  in  the  dread  and  au- 
thority of  which,  I  was  moved  to  declare  against  them  all, 
and  against  all  that  preached  and  not  freely,  as  being  such 
as  had  not  received  freely  from  Christ. 

"  Moreover,  when  the  Lord  sent  me  forth  into  the  world, 
he  forbade  me  to  put  off  my  hat  to  any,  high  or  low ;  and 
I  was  required  to  thee  and  thou  all  men  and  women,  with- 
out any  respect  to  rich  or  poor,  great  or  small.  And  as  I 
travelled  up  and  down,  I  was  not  to  bid  people  Good  mor- 
row, or  Good  evening ;  neither  might  I  bow  or  scrape  with 
my  leg  to  any  one.  And  this  made  the  sects  and  profess- 
ors to  rage.  But  the  Lord's  power  carried  me  over  all,  to 
his  glory,  and  many  came  to  be  turned  to  God  in  a  little 
time ;  for  the  heavenly  day  of  the  Lord  sprung  from  on 
high,  and  broke  forth  apace,  by  the  light  of  which,  many 
came  to  see  where  they  were." 

These  two  last  mentioned  testimonies  against  the  pride 
of  man  could  not  be  tolerated  by  those  who  loved  to  "  re- 
ceive honor  one  of  another,  but  sought  not  the  honor  that 
Cometh  from  God  only."  It  put  the  priests,  magistrates 
and  other  high  professing  people  in  a  great  rage,  when  they 
found  themselves  addressed  in  the  same  simple  style  which 
was  used  to  those  whom  they  disdained  as  their  inferiors. 
They  considered  not  that  this  was  consistent  with  Holy 
Scripture,  and  even  with  the  rules  of  grammar  taught  in 
their  schools ;  but  they  soon  proceeded  to  inflame  the  pas- 
sions of  the  people  against  George  Fox  and  his  uncompro- 
mising fellow  believers,  and  subjected  them  to  great  suffer- 
ings from  the  violence  of  unrestrained  and  wicked  men. 

He  was  also  led  to  exhort  all  men  to  justice  in  dealing, 
and  teachers  and  parents  in  particular  to  a  religious  care 
to  bring  up  children  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  guard 
them  from  that  which  would  encourage  lightness  and  van- 


1650.]  THE    SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS. 


31 


ity.  Tavern  keepers  he  cautioned  against  supplying  peo- 
ple with  liquor  to  their  hurt ;  judges  were  exhorted  to  just 
decisions ;  and  all  were  warned  against  plays,  shows  and 
music,  as  burdening  the  pure  life  and  stirring  up  the  mind 
to  vanity  and  folly. 

In  the  year  1649,  when  he  was  about  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  being  at  Nottingham  on  a  First-day,  he  felt  con- 
strained to  go  into  the  public  place  of  worship.  The  priest 
took  for  his  text  the  words  of  Peter:  "  We  have  also  a  more 
sure  word  of  prophecy,  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take 
heed,  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place,"  &g.; 
and  he  told  the  people  that  this  referred  to  the  Scriptures. 
George  felt  the  fewer  of  the  Lord  contradicting  in  his  mind 
the  carnal  reasoning  of  the  priest,  and  was  made  to  cry  out, 
"  Oh,  no,  it  is  not  the  Scriptures,"  and  to  inform  them  that 
it  was  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  which  the  holy  men  of  God  gave 
forth  the  Scriptures,  and  which  would  lead  into  all  truth : 
instancing  the  case  of  the  deluded  Jews,  who  possessed  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  yet  not  coming  to  the  light  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  but  reading  them  in  their  own  spirits,  rejected 
Christ,  the  bright  and  morning  star,  and  persecuted  his 
apostles  and  followers.  The  people  were  greatly  enraged  at 
this,  and  seizing  George,  they  put  him  into  a  filthy  prison. 
He  was  that  night  taken  before  the  magistrates  ;  and  after- 
wards the  sheriff,  who  sent  for  him  to  his  own  home,  was  so 
much  reached  by  the  Lord's  convincing  power,  that  he  went 
forth  into  the  market-place  and  preached  repentance  to  the 
people  in  the  streets.  After  remaining  in  prison  some  time, 
George  Fox  was  released,  and  was  made  instrumental  at 
Mansfield  Woodhouse,  in  calming  the  mind  of  a  distracted 
woman,  who  afterwards  received  the  truth,  and  continued 
in  it  to  her  death.  At  the  same  place,  he  was  moved  to 
enter  the  public  meeting-house,  and  declare  the  truth  to  the 
priest  and  people.  And  though  such  interruptions  and 
even  disputes  with  the  ministers  were  very  common  in  that 


32 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1650. 


day  of  general  excitement,  and  considered  as  one  part  of  the 
liberty  claimed  by  those  who  protested  against  the  super- 
stitions of  the  Romish  priests,  yet  the  doctrines  which 
George  Fox  preached  were  so  unpalatable,  that  they  fell 
upon  him  in  a  rage,  struck  him  down,  and  almost  stifled 
him ;  and  he  was  cruelly  bruised  with  their  hands,  their 
sticks,  and  even  w4th  their  Bibles.  He  was  then  put  into 
the  stocks,  kept  there  some  hours,  and  after  being  threat- 
ened with  whipping,  was  at  length  set  at  liberty.  Some 
however  Avere  that  day  convinced  of  the  truth,  to  the  re- 
joicing of  his  heart. 

The  next  year,  1650,  being  at  Derby,  at  a  time  when 
there  was  a  great  lecture  j^reached,  he  ^ya.s  led  to  make 
some  communication  to  the  people  at  the  close.  They 
heard  him  pretty  quietly,  but  an  officer  soon  came  and 
took  him  before  Justice  Bennet,  and  other  magistrates  of 
the  town.  George  Fox  spoke  boldly  for  the  truth,  exhort- 
ing them  to  look  unto  Christ  ivithin  them,  as  the  great 
sanctifier,  and  not  to  man ;  and  bidding  them  in  the  words 
of  Holy  Scripture,  to  tremble  at  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
Justice  Bennet,  at  this,  derided  him  and  his  fellow  be- 
lievers, calling  them  Quakers;  a  designation  w^hich  has 
ever  since  been  used  by  the  world  to  distinguish  us  from 
other  professors  of  religion.  These  justices  were  exceed- 
ingly puzzled  to  know  w^hat  to  do  viith  George,  but  after 
spending  about  eight  hours  in  examining  him,  and  dis- 
puting among  themselves,  they  committed  him  to  the  house 
of  correction  or  common  jail,  for  six  months.  Being  thus 
kept  in  confinement,  he  did  not  forget  those  who  had  been 
reached  through  his  ministry,  and  brought  by  the  con- 
vincing power  of  God  to  a  like  precious  faith ;  but  ad- 
dressed several  epistles  to  them  to  confirm  them  in  faith- 
fulness, and  remind  them  that  it  Avas  Christ  Jesus,  inwardly 
revealed,  on  whom  strength  was  laid,  and  to  him  they  must 
look  to  enable  them  to  persevere  to  tlic  end.    He  also 


1651.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


33 


wrote  several  letters  of  solemn  warning  to  the  magistrates 
and  priests  of  Derby,  wlio  had  committed  him.  The  time 
of  his  commitment  at  length  being  nearly  expired,  he  was 
brought  before  a  body  of  soldiers  in  the  market-place,  and 
desired  to  accept  the  station  of  captain  in  the  army  of 
the  commonwealth  against  King  Charles.  But  when  it 
was  found  that  he  could  not  be  brought  over  to  their 
purposes,  they  remanded  him  to  prison,  and  kept  him 
nearly  six  months  longer  in  a  filthy  dungeon,  without  any 
bed,  and  among  about  thirty  felons.  He  was  preserved, 
however,  in  great  patience,  and  many  occurrences  evinced 
from  time  to  time  the  strengthening  and  enlivening  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord  with  his  tried  servant.  After  a  while  he 
was  again  strongly  urged  to  join  the  army,  and  his  contin- 
ued refusal  was  the  occasion  of  still  closer  confinement. 
His  persecutors  at  length  became  uneasy  among  them- 
selves, and  set  him  at  liberty  after  an  imprisonment  of 
nearly  one  year.  After  his  liberation  from  the  dungeon  of 
Derby  prison,  he  continued  to  travel  abroad  in  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel,  holding  numerous  meetings,  and  being  instru- 
mental to  the  gathering  of  many  sincere  souls  into  the  fold 
of  Christ.  Many  of  these  afterwards  became  eminent  fel- 
low-laborers with  him  in  the  cause  of  pure  Christianity, 
and  the  process  of  gradual  convincement  of  some  of  them 
evinced  in  a  remarkable  manner,  the  immediate  operations 
of  that  divine  Spirit  which  was  promised  by  the  Saviour  of 
men,  to  lead  into  all  truth. 


34 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTEK  III. 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  SOME  OF  THE  DOCTRINES  AND  TESTIMONIES 
PROMULGATED  BY  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF 
FRIENDS. 

ALTHOUGH  it  would  be  foreign  to  the  object  of  this 
work,  to  develop  at  much  length  the  Christian  doc- 
trines held  by  George  Fox  and  his  fellow-laborers,  yet  a 
short  insight  into  some  important  principles  most  surely 
believed  by  them,  may  be  necessary  to  enable  us  to  pursue 
their  history  with  a  clear  conception  of  their  real  character 
as  advocates  of  the  Truth  in  Christ. 

They  never  hesitated  to  declare  their  belief  in  "  the  three 
that  bear  record  in  Heaven" — that  there  is  one  God  and 
Father  of  all,  of  whom  are  all  things^ — one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  who  was  glorified 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  began,  who  is  God  over 
all,  blessed  for  ever — jand  one  Holy  Spirit,  the  promise  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  the  Leader  and  sanctifier  and  com- 
forter of  his  people — and  that  these  three  are  One,  as  the 
Holy  Scriptures  declare. 

They  believed  that  the  one  only  wise,  omnipotent  and 
everlasting  God  was  the  Creator  of  all  things,  and  is  the 
preserver  of  all  that  he  hath  made.  And  they  owned  and 
truly  believed  that  Jesus  Christ  was  his  beloved  and  only- 
begotten  Son,  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of 
the  virgin  Mary — in  whom  we  have  redemption  through 
his  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins — that  he  is  the  ex- 
press image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born  of  every 
creature — by  and  for  whom  all  things  in  heaven  and  in 
earth  were  created — that  he  offered  himself  without  spot 
unto  God,  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  tasted  death  for  every  man. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


35 


being  crucified  for  us  in  the  flesh,  Avithout  the  gates  of  Jeru- 
salem—that he  rose  again  the  third  day  for  our  justifica- 
tion, ascended  into  Heaven,  and  now  sitteth  at  the  right 
hand  of  God ;  being  made  the  propitiation  for  bur  sins,  and 
not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 
They  rejoicingly  believed  in  Him  as  their  Kedeemer  ar^d 
Saviour,  the  Captain  of  their  salvation,  their  Mediator  with 
the  Father,  and  the  author  and  finisher  of  their  faith  — 
their  wisdom,  righteousness,  justification  and  redemption — 
the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  their  souls — and  sincerely  ac- 
knowledged that  there  is  no  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved. 

The  doctrine  of  immediate  divine  revelation,  which  had 
been  lost  sight  of  in  the  apostasy,  was  revived  and  abun- 
dantly preached  by  them  as  the  glory  and  life  of  the  gos- 
pel dispensation.  While  other  professors,  too  generally, 
were  resting  in  a  bare  belief  of  what  Christ  had  done  for 
them,  without  them,  and  in  a  literal  knowledge  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  these  converted  and  regenerated  witnesses  for 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  were  made  partakers  of  that 
faith  which  is  produced  by  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  in  the  heart ;  by  which  they  not  only  received  Him 
as  their  Redeemer  and  Saviour,  in  what  he  graciously  did 
and  sufiered  in  the  flesh,  as  the  propitiation  for  sin,  and  as 
their  mediator  and  intercessor ;  but  likewise  in  his  inward 
and  spiritual  appearance,  to  baptize  and  sanctify  them ;  so 
as  to  prepare  their  souls  to  partake  of  the  fulness  of  the 
blessings  which  the  Gospel  confers. 

Concerning  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  believed  that  they 
were  given  forth  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  through  the 
holy  men  of  God,  who  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  They  believed  that  these  blessed  writings  are 
to  be  read,  believed,  and  fulfilled  (he  that  fulfils  them  is 
Christ)  ;  and  that  they  "  are  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  re- 
proof, for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness,  that 


86 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIKS  OF 


the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto 
all  good  works" — and  that  they  "are  able  to  ma'ke  wise 
unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

They  believed  that  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  that 
alone  by  which  the  true  knowledge  of  God,  or  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  can  be  revealed — that  the  revelations  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  heart  are  the  great  guide  of  life,  by  which  true 
Christians  are  to  be  immediately  led  and  governed ;  and 
that  these  revelations  can  never  contradict,  or  lead  men  to 
slight  or  lightly  esteem  the  testimony  of  Holy  Scripture, 
which  proceeded  from  the  same  Spirit  in  holy  men  of  old. 

Hence  they  also  believed  that  faith  is  not  a  natural  fac- 
ulty of  the  human  mind,  to  be  exercised  according  to  man's 
will ;  and  that  there  can  be  no  effectual  faith,  but  that 
which  is  produced  by  the  immediate  operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  heart,  inclining  and  enabling  us  to  believe 
what  it  reveals  to  us  there,  as  well  as  those  things  which 
are  recorded  in  the  Scriptures. 

They  plainly  declared  their  conviction,  a  conviction  am- 
ply confirmed  by  what  they  knew  of  their  own  hearts,  that 
man,  who  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  fell  by  trans- 
gression from  this  blessed  state,  and  lost  the  heavenly 
image ;  so  that  all  men  are  by  nature  fallen,  degenerated 
and  dead  to  the  divine  life,  and  subject  to  the  power  of  sin ; 
though  not  punishable  for  Adam's  sin,  until  they  make  it 
their  own  by  actual  transgression.  But  they  further  de- 
clared the  all-consoling  truth,  that  God,  who  of  his  infinite 
love  sent  his  Son,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  into  the  world, 
who  tasted  death  for  every  man,  hath  given  to  every  man, 
Jew  or  Gentile,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  or  free,  of  what- 
soever nation  or  place,  a  certain  day  or  time  of  visitation 
by  the  light  of  His  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart,  during  which 
it  is  possible  for  him  to  be  saved  and  to  partake  of  the  ben- 
efits of  Christ's  death — that  these  visitations  of  divine 
Grace  draw  men  to  God,  convict  for  sin,  baptize  into  a 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIENDS. 


37 


death  of  the  first  and  carnal  nature,  and  if  received  and  co- 
operated with,  work  the  salvation  of  all,  even  of  those  who 
are  igi»orant  of  the  history  of  Adam's  fall,  and  of  the  death 
and  sufferings  of  Christ. 

While  they  fully  believed  that  remission  of  sin  and  re- 
conciliation with  God  is  obtained  only  through  Christ  and 
his  most  satisfactory  offering,  they  were  also  convinced  that 
no  man  was  justified  while  he  continued  in  sin,  whatever 
might  be  his  profession  of  faith.  They  preached  the  indis- 
pensable necessity  of  holiness,  without  which  the  Scriptures 
declare  that  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord;  and  they  placed 
justification  where  the  apostle  places  it,  in  connection  with 
being  washed  and  sanctified,  but  not  as  preceding  sanctifi- 
cation.  They  believed  that  this  sanctification  is  produced 
by  the  mighty  work  of  Christ  within  us,  whereby  the 
power,  nature,  and  liabits  of  sin  are  destroyed ;  that  men 
truly  repenting  and  believing,  are,  by  the  propitiatory  sac- 
rifice of  Christ  without  us,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  justi- 
fied from  the  imputation  of  sins  that  are  past;  and  that  all 
this  is  effected,  not  by  a  bare  act  of  faith  separate  from 
obedience,  but  in  the  obedience  of  faith ;  Christ  being  the 
author  of  eternal  salvation  to  none  but  those  that  obey 
him. 

This  brought  them  to  that  great  doctrine,  that  all  man- 
kind are  called  to  perfection,  and  offered  the  "attainment, 
through  perfect  obedience,  of  a  state  of  freedom  from  sin 
even  in  this  life,  though  not  from  a  liability  to  fall  again, 
through  unwatchfulness,  under  the  power  of  temptation. 
And  this  doctrine  of  perfection  was  a  groundwork  for  their 
uncompromising  integrity,  and  strict  attention  to  what  many 
termed  little  things,  but  which  were  essential  to  their  char- 
acter as  truly  faithful  Christians,  because  required  by  the 
manifestations  of  the  divine  light  of  Christ  in  their  con- 
sciences. 

Christian  baptism  they  held  to  be,  not  the  washing  of  the 
4 


38 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


body  with  water — ^"  the  putting  away  the  filth  of  the  flesh  " 
— but  the  powerful  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of 
all  who  submit  thereto,  refining  them  from  the  pollution 
of  sin,  winnowing  away  the  transgressing  nature,  and  pre- 
paring the  soul  for  being  gathered  into  the  heavenly  garner, 
as  grain  separated  from  the  cliafil 

In  like  manner  they  believed,  that  the  communion  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  is  not  the  partaking  of  outward 
bread  and  wine ;  but  is  inw  ard  and  spiritual  —  a  real  partici- 
pation of  His  divine  nature  in  measure,  through  faith  in 
Him,  and  obedience  to  his  Spirit  in  the  heart ;  by  which 
participation  the  inw^ard  man  is  daily  nourished,  strength- 
ened, and  kept  alive  unto  God. 

Acceptable  worship,  they  often  testified,  could  not  be 
offered,  but  through  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
our  mediator,  by  whom  only  we  can  approach  unto  God ; 
and  that  in  order  to  experience  this  necessary  qualification, 
it  is  our  duty  to  have  the  mind  withdrawn  from  all  outward 
objects,  and  engaged  in  reverently  and  humbly  w^aiting  upon 
the  Lord  in  the  silence  of  all  flesh  ;  that  He  may  be  pleased, 
through  the  revelation  of  his  Spirit,  to  give  us  a  true  sense 
of  our  needs,  and  a  knowledge  of  his  will,  and  enable  us 
to  ofler  a  sacrifice  well  pleasing  in  his  sight ;  whether  it  be 
in  silent  mental  adoration,  the  secret  breathing  of  the  soul 
to  him,  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  or  vocal  prayer  and 
thanksgiving. 

They  were  brought  off",  by  the  spirit  of  meekness  and  long- 
suffering  which  characterizes  true  Christianity,  from  all  wars 
and  fightings,  and  from  that  mind  which  promotes  the  war- 
like disposition  ;  being  enabled  to  see  their  entire  inconsist- 
ency with  the  gospel  of  the  Prince  of  peace,  and  that  their 
origin  was,  as  said  the  apostle  James,  in  those  "  lusts  which 
war  against  the  soul."  Thus  they  could  never  take  up  arms, 
even  though,  like  the  primitive  Christians,  they  should  suffer 
the  loss  of  liberty,  property  and  life,  for  their  faithful 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


89 


adherence  to  the  injunction  of  the  Saviour,  "  Love  your  ene- 
I  mies ;  do  good  to  them  which  hate  you  ;  and  pray  ibr  them 
that  despitefully  use  you  an'd  persecute  you." 

Nor  did  they  dare  to  reason  away  the  plain  prohibition' 
of  our  Lord: — "Swear  not  at  all,  but  let  your  communica- 
tion be  yea,  yea,  nay,  nay ;  for  whatsoever  is  more  than 
these,  Cometh  of  evil."  And  this  testimony  was  the  occasion 
of  abundant  suffering  from  the  powders  of  this  world. 

These  were  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Society  which 
the  Lord  was  now  gathering  into  a  visible  church,  under  the 
instrumentality  of  George  Fox  and  his  fellow-laborers. 
Other  views  which  sprang  from  these  as  a  branch  from  the 
parent  stem,  may  be  gathered  in  perusing  the  ensuing  pages. 
But  one  of  these  branches,  connected  as  it  is  with  that  purity 
of  language  which  the  Gospel  was  to  restore  to  the  believers, 
it  may  be  well  in  this  place  to  develope  in  some  degree  of 
detail.  It  is  the  heathen  origin  of  the  common  names  of 
months  and  days,  which  crept  into  use  among  professing 
Christians,  along  with  other  corruptions,  and  which  Friends 
saw  plainly  to  be  a  relic  of  a  fiilse  religion,  and  inconsistent 
with  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

"And  in  all  things  that  I  have  said  unto  you,  be  circum- 
spect ;  and  make  no  mention  of  the  names  of  other  gods ; 
neither  let  it  be  heard  out  of  thy  mouth." — Exodus,  xxiii.  13. 

"  For  then  will  I  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  language." 
Zephaniah,  iii.  9. 

These  heathen  names  may  be  thus  explained. 

January — This  name  was  derived  from  Janus,  an  ancient 
king  of  Italy,  whom  heathen  superstition  had  deified ;  to 
whom  a  temple  was  erected  in  Rome,  and  the  month  so 
called  was  dedicated  to  his  image. 

February — was  so  called  from  Februa,  a  word  denoting 
purgation  by  sacrifice ;  it  being  usual  in  this  month,  for  the 
priests  of  the  heathen  idol  Pan,  to  offer  sacrifices,  and  to 
perform  certain  rites,  supposed  to  conduce  to  the  cleansing 
or  purgation  of  the  people. 


40 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


March — was  so  denominated  from  Mars,  the  pretended 
god  of  war,  whom  Romulus,  the  founder  of  Kome,  assumed 
to  be  his  father.  » 

April — is  said  to  have  derived  its  name  from  the  Greek 
appellation  of  Venus,  ('A^pw,)  an  imaginary  goddess  wor- 
shipped by  the  Romans  in  this  month,  w^ho  was  pretended 
to  have  sprung  from  the  foam  ('a^poj)  of  the  sea. 

May — The  month  so  called  is  said  to  have  derived  its 
name  from  Maia,  the  mother  of  Mercury,  another  pretended 
heathen  deity,  whom  the  Romans  worshipped  in  this  month. 

June — So  named  from  Juno,  another  supposed  goddess  of 
the  Romans. 

July — was  so  called  from  the  great  Roman  warrior  Julius 
Csesar,  who  gave  his  own  name  to  this  month,  instead  of  its 
former  name  of  Quintilis,  or  the  fifth.  He  was  deified  by 
his  superstitious  admirers. 

August — So  named  in -honor  of  his  successor,  the  Emperor 
Augustus.  This  month  was  previously  called  Sextilis,  or 
the  sixth.  He  also  was  deified,  and  called  "the  Divine 
Augustus." 

The  remaining  four  months,  called  September,  (meaning 
Seventh,)  October,  (Eighth,)  November,  (Ninth,)  and  Decem- 
ber, (Tenth,)  were  very  properly  so  called  until  the  alteration 
of  the  Calendar  adopted  in  England  in  the  year  1752 ;  by 
which  what  is  called  the  New  Style  came  into  use,  so  that 
those  four  months  have  ever  since  been,  not  what  their  Latin 
names  indicate,  but  the  Ninth,  Tenth,  Eleventh  and  Twelfth ; 
so  that  it  is  no  longer  consistent  with  that  truth  incumbent 
on  all-Christians,  to  designate  these  months  by  those  names. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  numerical  mode  of  nam- 
ing the  months  is  the  most  ancient,  as  it  is  unquestionably 
the  most  plain,  simple  and  rational. 

The  Days  of  the  Week  were  also  called,  by  our  idolatrous 
Saxon  ancestors,  after  the  names  of  the  idols  or  other  objects 
which  they  worshipped  on  the  respective  days.  Thus, 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


41 


The  First  day  of  the  week  was  by  them  called  Sunday^ 
from  their  customary  adoration  of  the  Sun  on  that  day. 

The  Second  day  they  called  Monday,  from  their  custom 
of  worshipping  the  Moon  on  that  day. 

The  Third  day,  Tuesday,  in  honor  of  one  of  their  idols 
called  Tuisco. 

The  Fourth  day,  Wednesday,  from  Woden,  another  of 
their  idols. 

The  Fifth  day  was  called  Thursday,  from  the  name  of  an 
idol  called  Thor,  worshipped  on  that  day. 

The  Sixth  day  was  called  Friday,  from  Friga,  an  imagi- 
nary goddess  worshipped  by  them. 

The  Seventh  day,  they  styled  Saturday,  from  Saturn  or 
Seater,  another  imaginary  deity. 

The  candid  mind,  on  a  consideration  of  the  above,  must 
•  acknowledge  that  the  continued  .use  of  these  names  involved 
an  acknowledgment  or  sanction  of  the  gross  idolatry  of  the 
heathen,  contrary  to  the  express,  command  of  Scripture,  that 
"  the  names  of  the  idols  should  no  more  be  heard." 

And  these  were  not  all  the  corruptions  introduced  in 
reference  to  the  names  of  days  and  times.  For  when  the 
profession  of  the  Christian  religion  became  national  in  the 
Roman  empire,  multitudes  of  heathen  priests,  who  saw  their 
present  craft  in  danger,  embraced  the  profession  of  Christi- 
anity fi'om  selfish  views,  and  labored  with  too  much  success 
to  find  employment  by  imposing  on  the  people  a  new  set  of 
ceremonies  and  sacrifices,  bearing  some  resemblance  to  those 
to  which  in  their  state  of  heathenism  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed. From  this  corrupt  source  sprang  the  Popish  sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass,  the  celebration  of  which  at  particular  times, 
(some  of  them  in  connection  with  the  worship  of  saints)  gave 
rise  to  the  names  of  Michaelmas,  Martinmas,  Christmas,  and 
the  like. 

Another  division  of  the  testimony  of  Friends  to  a  pure 
and  simple  language,  resulted  from  the  conviction  that  strict 
4* 


42 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


truth  must  be  invariably  maintained  by  the  Christian,  and 
that  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  flatter  the  natural  pride  of  his 
fellow-men.  They  perceived  that  pride  and  fashion  had 
introduced  the  practice  of  addressing  a  single  individual  by 
the  word  "  you,"  as  if  he  were  two  or  more ;  and  when  they 
could  no  longer  thus  depart  from  the  pure  language  of  Holy 
Scripture,  they  found  to  their  cost,  by  the  sufferings  which 
they  underwent  on  its  account,  that  this  pride  of  the  human 
heart  was  greatly  roused  at  the  idea  of  being  addressed  in 
the  same  manner  as  was  customary  towards  those  who  were 
considered  as  inferiors.  This  confirmed  them  in  the  belief 
that  the  custom  was  corrupt  in  its  origin ;  and  they  steadily 
persevered,  through  much  persecution,  in  adherence  to  the 
Scripture  example  of  "  thou  "  or  "  thee  "  to  a  single  indi- 
vidual, however  exalted  in  station  or  character. 

The  same  fear  of  fostering  the  pride  of  man  led  them  to 
discard  the  use  of  the  common  modes  of  salutation,  some  of 
which  implied  what  was  often  absolutely  false.  Thus,  the 
terms  "  Master  "  or  "  Mister,"  and  "  Mistress,"  they  could 
not  conscientiously  make  use  of,  towards  persons  who  stood 
not  in  that  relation  to  them ;  nor  could  they  dare  to  offer 
the  appearance  of  an  approach  to  man-worship,  which  was 
involved  in  the  customary  practice  of  bowing  and  courtesy- 
ing,  and  taking  off  the  hat ;  though  this  was  a  supposed 
honor  which  stuck  very  close  to  the  worldly  heart,  and  for 
faithfully  testifying  against  which.  Friends  often  endured 
most  grievous  sufferings. 


1651.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


43 


CHAPTEE  IV. 


CONVINCEMENT    OF    WILLIAM   DEWSBUKY  —  AND  EDWARD 
BURROUGH. 

/^NE  of  the  most  eminent  instruments  among  those  who 


v^'  united  with  George  Fox  in  1651,  was  William  Dews- 
bury.  He  was  born  at  Allerthorpe  in  Yorkshire,  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  of  religious  parents,  who  were 
doubtless  instrumental  in  cherishing  that  susceptibility  of 
mind,  which  formed,  at  an  early  age,  a  striking  feature  in 
his  character.  When  he  was  only  eight  years  old,  the  Lord 
visited  him  by  his  Spirit,  clearly  intimating  to  the  ear  of 
his  mind  —  "  I  created  thee  for  my  glory — an  account  thou 
must  give  me  for  all  thy  words  and  actions ; "  and  his 
understanding  was  enlightened  to  perceive  that  he  had 
lived  in  disobedience  to  the  Lord's  Avill.  About  this  period 
he  lost  his  father ;  and  while  lamenting  with  tears  over  this 
solemn  and  affecting  event,  he  heard  in  the  secret  of  his  soul 
what  appeared  to  him  a  voice,  saying :  "  Weep  for  thyself, 
for  thy  father  is  well."  So  powerful  was  the  effect  produced 
on  his  mind  by  this  extraordinary  incident,  that  from  that 
time  forward  he  spent  many  hours,  which  in  childhood  are 
usually  devoted  to  play,  in  prayer  and  fasting,  under  a  sense 
of  his  lost  and  undone  condition.  As  he  advanced  in  years, 
he  became  increasingly  sensible  of  the  corrupt  propensities 
of  his  nature.  The  condemnation  which  attended  him,  was 
that  he  lived  without  the  true  knowledge  or  fear  of  the  Lord 
his  Maker  ;  though  there  is  no  reason  to  apprehend  that  he 
exceeded  the  ordinary  levity  of  young  persons,  or  went 
beyond  the  bounds  of  what  is  commonly  termed  morality. 
But  it  was  gradually  given  him  to  see  the  indispensable 
necessity  of  a  thorough  change  of  heart,  and  of  being  "  born 


44 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  CfF 


[1651. 


again  of  incorruptible  seed,  by  the  Word  of  God,  which 
liveth  and  abideth  forever."  Under  these  powerful  impres- 
sions, between  his  eighth  and  thirteenth  years,  he  endeavored 
to  alter  the  course  of  his  life.  He  ceased  from  what  he  was 
now  led  to  consider  the  vain  conversation  in  which  he  had 
hitherto  lived,  and  became  thoughtful  and  serious  far  beyond 
his  years.  He  began  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  other 
books  on  religious  subjects  from  his  own  choice,  and  was 
often  engaged  in  mourning  and  prayer  before  the  Almighty, 
although  at  that  time  he  had  received  no  clear  understand- 
ing as  to  how  or  where  the  Divine  Being  was  to  be  found — 
even  in  the  heart  of  man  himself,  which  is  declared  to  be 
"  the  temple  of  the  Lord."  His  soul  was  "  athirst  for  God, 
for  the  living  God ; "  and  he  could  exclaim  with  David, 
"  w^hen  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God  ? "  It  was  in 
vain  that  he  diligently  availed  himself  of  such  opportunities 
as  were  afforded,  of  learning,  through  the  public  teachers 
of  religion,  and  other  outward  means,  what  he  was  thus 
anxious  to  know  and  enjoy  in  himself.  The  outward  and 
carnal  views  of  that  class  of  persons  were  not  calculated  to 
satisfy  his  searching  spirit ;  and  he  found  that  such  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  as  is  life  eternal,  was 
not  to  be  attained  through  those  physicians  of  no  value. 
All  his  own  endeavors  also,  made  in  his  own  strength  and 
will,  to  render  himself  acceptable  to  God,  were  equally  fruit- 
less ;  and  thus  was  he  brought  in  entire  prostration  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  feeling  his  need  of  Christ  the  Saviour,  and 
that  without  him  his  soul  could  not  live. 

Until  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  age,  his  chief  occupation 
was  that  of  a  shepherd's  boy,  the  retirement  of  which  was 
very  congenial  to  his  feelings.  But  soon  after  this,  he  was 
placed  apprentice  to  a  cloth-weaver  near  Leeds,  wishing  to 
have  more  frequent  opportunities  of  intimate  association  with 
a  people,  whom  he  believed  to  have  attained  to  a  more 
advanced  state  of  religious  purity,  than  that  to  which  he 


1651.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIENDS. 


45 


had  been  accustomed.  But  though  he  attended  assiduously 
at  their  places  of  worship,  and  discoursed  frequently  with 
them  on  the  subject  of  his  anxiety,  yet  he  found  himself 
greatly  disappointed,  and  met  with  no  rest  nor  peace  to  his 
weary  soul,  "  in  that  worship  of  God  which  the  world  had 
set  up."  He  was  told  by  his  associates  that  the  bread  and 
wine  which  they  called  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper,  were 
the  seals  of  the  covenant ;  but  when  he  received  them,  he 
found  nothing  sealed  to  his  soul  therewith.  The  emptiness 
of  this  ceremony  was  at  length  shown  to  him,  and  he  was 
instructed  that  "  the  seal  of  the  covenant  was  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  and  no  outward  element ;  and  that  the  Supper  was 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  which  the  world  doth  not 
know." 

About  the  time  that  he  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  the  civil  wars  broke  out  in  England,  which  resulted 
in  the  death  of  King  Charles  the  First.  William,  in  com- 
mon with  many  ardent  and  well  meaning  persons,  fell  into 
a  snare  which  the  enemy  of  all  righteousness,  who  was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning,  laid  for  them,  through  the 
plausible  reasoning  of  some  who  professed  to  be  ministers 
of  Christ,  and  who  designated  the  joining  of  the  army  of  the 
Parliament,  in  what  was  termed  a  defence  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  as  "  going  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty."  "William  Dewsbury  was  taken  with 
this  bait,  not  at  that  time  seeing  the  inconsistency  of  the 
sword,  for  the  disciples  of  the  Prince  of  Peace ;  and  entered 
into  the  army,  supposing  he  was  fighting  for  the  gospel. 
But  in  this  too  he  was  disappointed.  At  length  he  was 
favored  to  perceive  that  in  all  his  efforts  hitherto,  to  "  find 
out  the  Almighty  to  perfection,"  he  had  been  "  seeking  the 
living  among  the  dead,"  and  looking  out  for  that  which  was 
only  to  be  found  within ;  and  that  it  was  in  mercy  that  he 
had  been  baffled  in  all  these  attempts  made  in  his  own 
strength  and  wisdom.    "  Then,"  says  he,  "  my  mind  was 


46 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1651. 


turned  within  by  the  power  of  the  Lord,  to  wait  in  his  coun- 
sel, the  light  in  my  conscience,  to  hear  what  the  Lord  would 
say.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  me  and  said  :  '  Put 
up  thy  sword  into  the  scabbard ;  if  my  kingdom  w^ere  of 
this  world,  then  would  my  servants  fight.'  Which  word 
enlightened  my  heart,  and  discovered  the  mystery  of  iniquity ; 
it  showed  the  kingdom  of  Christ  to  he  within^  and  that  its 
enemies  being  within  and  spiritual,  my  weapons  against 
them  should  also  be  spiritual, — the  power  of  God." 

Favored  with  this  clear  intimation  of  the  Lord's  will,  he 
put  up  his  weapon  into  its  sheath,  left  the  army,  and  re- 
sumed his  former  occupation  of  a  weaver ;  and  waiting  on 
the  Lord  in  the  way  of  his  judgments,  he  w^as  brought  un- 
reservedly to  cast  himself  upon  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  to  yield  to  His  all-wise  disposal.  He  was  fa- 
vored with  clear  evidence  that  free  redemption  was  laid  up 
for  him  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  that  though  "  the  wages  of 
sin  is  death,  yet  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  And  having  passed  through  the 
fiery  baptisms  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  deep  provings 
which  have  been  described,  he  was  effectually  convinced 
that  true  religious  knowledge  is  not  to  be  acquired  as  men 
obtain  knowledge  in  the  things  of  this  w^orld,  by  the  ordi- 
nary cultivation  of  the  mental  faculties  alone ;  but  that  we 
must  wait  in  great  self-abasement  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  to 
receive  such  an  understanding  as  the  natural  man  does  not 
possess,  and  in  which  alone  spiritual  things  can  be  rightly 
comprehended  and  appreciated. 

Having  thus  tasted  of  the  good  word  of  life  and  of  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  come,  William  Dew^sbury  began  to 
feel,  about  the  year  1646,  a  strong  engagement  of  mind,  in- 
clining him  to  declare  to  others  what  the  Lord  had  done 
for  his  soul,  that  his  fellow-creatures  might  al.-io  be  per- 
suaded to  seek  after  a  like  precious  experience.  But  it  is 
remarkable,  that  though  he  was  freely  given  up  in  mind  to 


1651.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


47 


undertake  the  work  of  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  yet  the 
necessary  commission  for  undertaking  it  had  not  then  been 
given.  He  was  commanded  by  the  secret  intimations  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  to  wait  until  the  year  1652,  when,  it  was 
prophetically  revealed  to  his  understanding,  there  would  be 
a  greater  opening  in  the  minds  of  the  people  to  receive  the 
doctrines  of  spiritual  truth.  During  the  six  years  which 
intervened,  he  continued  principally  about  his  own  home, 
and  had  to  pass  through  various  conflicts  of  mind,  intended 
doubtless  for  the  further  trial  of  his  faith,  and  for  his  more 
full  preparation  for  the  great  work  and  service  to  which  he 
was  appointed.  And  by  the  power  of  the  divine  Word,  he 
was  armed  with  patience  to  wait  in  the  Lord's  counsel, 
through  all  his  trials,  until  it  pleased,  the  Almighty  to  set 
him  free. 

It  was  in  the  year  1651  that  this  spiritually-minded  man 
first  met  that  great  instrument  in  gathering  the  Society  of 
Friends,  George  Fox.  This  occurred  near  Balby  in  York- 
shire, where  George  was  holding  meetings,  after  his  libera- 
tion from  the  dungeon  at  Derby.  William  Dewsbury  and 
his  wife  (whom  he  had  married  about  two  years  before,)  at- 
tended one  of  these  meetings,  held  at  Lieutenant  Roper's,  at 
Synderhill  Green :  and  George  Fox  relates,  that  after  the 
meeting  (it  being  moonlight)  William  and  Ann  Dewsbury 
came  to  him  in  the  field,  and  confessed  to  the  truth. 
Doubtless  their  hearts  rejoiced  to  find  that  as  face  answer- 
eth  to  face  in  a  glass,  so  they  could  read  the  lines  of  their 
own  experience  in  what  George  had  delivered,  and  could 
extend  to  him  the  right  hand  of  precious  fellowship.  And 
in  the  eighth  month  of  the  following  year,  he  clearly  re- 
ceived the  commission  which  had  been  previously  appointed 
for  him,  in  the  following  secret  intimation  from  the  Lord : 
"  The  leaders  of  my  people  cause  them  to  err,  in  drawing 
them  from  the  light  in  their  consciences. — Freely  thou  hast 
received,  freely  give  and  minister ;  and  what  I  have  made 


48  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1652. 


known  to  thee  in  secret,  declare  thou  openly."  The  power 
of  which  message  constrained  him  to  leave  his  family,  and 
to  run  to  and  fro,  to  declare  to  souls  "svhere  their  Teacher 
is,  even  the  Light  of  Christ  in  their  consciences,  as  the 
Lord  had  made  manifest  to  his  own  soul.  His  first  journey 
on  this  account  was  into  Westmoreland,  Cumberland  and 
Lancashire,  where  he  was  subjected  to  severe  sufferings  for 
the  ti'uth's  sake,  being  beaten  almost  to  death,  by  a  mob, 
for  speaking  in  one  of  the  public  places  of  worship. 

Soon  after  this,  being  at  Sedberg,  in  Yorkshire,  on  a 
market-day,  he  was  constrained  to  preach  the  Gospel  at 
the  market  cross,  and  to  warn  the  people  to  turn  from  the 
error  of  their  ways,  to  the  grace  of  God  and  the  light  in 
their  own  consciences.  He  was  hereupon  again  beset  by  a 
concourse  of  rude  persons,  who  endeavored  violently  to 
push  him  down.  Setting  their  backs  against  the  high 
stone  cross,  which  was  in  a  tottering  condition,  and  their 
hands  against  this  faithful  man,  they  threw  down  the  cross 
with  the  force  exerted,  and  broke  it  on  the  ground.  It  was 
remarkable  that  no  one  was  injured  by  the  accident,  as  the 
people  were  thickly  collected  around  him. 

He  was  afterwards  imprisoned  at  York,  having  been 
pursued  during  his  peaceful  labors  in  the  gospel,  twice  at- 
tacked by  a  constable  with  an  iron  fork,  and  violently 
urged  along  the  street. of  the  small  town  where  he  was  ap- 
prehended at  night,  his  captors  rudely  shouting  as  they 
went  from  one  tavern  to  another.  He  was  now  brought 
to  trial,  but  at  the  conclusion  of  the  assizes  was  cleared  by 
proclamation,  and  set  at  liberty.  He  was  however,  about 
a  month  afterwards,  again  seized,  as  he  was  preaching  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Derby,  and  immured  once  more  within  the 
walls  of  a  prison ;  and  this  unchristian  treatment  became 
in  after-life,  his  very  frequent  experience. 

Other  faithful  men  were  alike  prepared,  under  the 
Lord's  own  forming  hand,  for  the  reception  and  right 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


49 


appreciation  of  the  truths  preached  by  George  Fox  and 
his  friends. 

Edward  Burrough  was  born  in  the  barony  of  Kendal  in' 
the  county  of  Westmoreland,  England,  about  the  year 
1635.  His  parents  had  the  reputation  of  honest  and  up- 
right persons,  and  brought  up  their  son  with  as  good  an 
education  as  the  neighborhood  afforded.  He  was  a  boy 
of  very  good  understanding,  and  of  knowledge  far  beyond 
his  yeai-s.  His  intimate  friend  Francis  Howgill  testifies  of 
him,  that  "  he  had  the  spirit  of  a  man  when  he  was  but  a 
child.  I  may  say,  gray  hairs  were  upon  him  when  he  was 
but  a  youth,  for  he  was  clothed  with  wisdom  in  his  infancy. 
He  was  inclinable  from  his  youth  upwards,  to  religion — 
always  accompanied  the  best  men,  wto  walked  in  godliness 
and  honesty — was  never  known  to  be  addicted  to  any  vice 
or  bad  behavior — but  feared  the  Lord,  and  walked  up- 
rightly according  to  the  light  and  knowledge  received.  In 
his  natural  disposition,  he  was  bold  and  manly,  dexterous 
and  fervent,  and  what  he  took  in  hand,  he  did  with  his 
might ;  loving,  kind  and  courteous,  merciful  and  flexible, 
and  easy  to  be  entreated.  His  delight  was  always  among 
good  people,  and  to  be  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  his  very 
strength  was  bent  towards  God." 

This  was  his  character  among  his  associates.  But  he 
himself,  under  a  sense  of  his  deficiencies,  says  that  he  was 
wanton  and  light,  and  lived  in  pleasure,  without  the  fear 
of  God,  or  knowledge  of  Him  but  by  hearsay  or  tradition. 
When,  however,  he  grew  up  towards  twelve  years  of  age, 
something  stirred  within  him,  and  showed  him  that  there 
was  a  higher  religion  than  that  which  he  was  exercised  in. 
He  then  inquired  after  the  Presbyterians,  under  the  idea 
that  they  were  nearer  the  truth  than  what  he  had  known ; 
and  would  go  several  miles  on  a  First-day  to  hear  the  best 
of  their  preachers.  As  he  grew  into  favor  with  them,  he 
left  off  some  of  his  lightness  and  vanity ;  but  instead  of  it, 
5 


50 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1652. 


spiritual  pride  crept  in,  and  he  became  pujSed  up  in  some 
degree  with  his  attainments.  It  pleased  the  Lord,  however, 
in  mercy,  not  to  let  him  rest  here ;  but  he  was  struck  as 
with  a  terror  by  the  convicting  power  of  Divine  Grace; 
and  after  his  exercises  in  prayer,  he  often  heard  this  voice 
speaking  to  his  soul :  "  Thou  art  ignorant  of  God ;  thou 
knowest  not  where  he  is,  nor  what  he  is :  to  what  purpose 
is  thy  prayer  ? "  Fear  and  dread  came  upon  him,  and  he 
was  made  to  give  up  even  "  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats  " 
his  formal  exercises,  performed  in  his  own  will,  and  all  re- 
liance on  his  attainments  in  human  learning.  He  lost  also 
his  dependence  upon  the  preachers,  in  whom  he  had  so 
much  delighted,  and  was  favored  with  some  experience  of 
joy  and  peace,  and  of  water  from  the  living  fountain,  to 
the  refreshment  of  his  soul.  But  even  in  this  state,  the 
enemy  of  man's  happiness  was  busily  intent  on  spoiling  the 
work,  and  infused  into  his  mind  the  poisonous  leaven  of 
self-righteousness  and  self-activity.  "  Thus,"  says  he,  "  be- 
ing ignorant  of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  to  keep  low  in  it,  I  ran 
before  my  Guide,  and  grew  up  into  notions,  to  talk  of  high 
things ;  for  it  was  my  delight  to  comprehend  in  my  busy 
mind."  This  was  a  very  dangerous  state,  of  which,  at 
length,  in  great  mercy,  he  was  made  sensible.  "  The  wit- 
ness," he  says,  "  which  lay  slain  in  me,  would  give  me  no 
rest.  Something  which  shined  deep  in  me,  showed  me  ig- 
norance in  all  profession,  and  I  was  put  to  a  stand  many 
times  in  myself  at  those  things  which  were  come  to  pass." 
About  this  time,  which  was  about  the  17th  year  of  his 
age,  he  met  with  George  Fox,  who  had  much  reasoning 
with  him  and  others,  at  the  house  of  one  Miles  Bateman, 
at  ITnderbarrow.  Edward  says,  "  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
speak  to  me  by  him,  that  I  was  in  the  prodigal's  state,  and 
above  the  cross  of  Christ;  not  in  the  pure  fear  of  the  Lord, 
but  full  of  corruption  and  the  old  nature.  I  saw  myself  to 
be  in  bondage  to  my  own  will,  and  to  my  own  lust,  and  full 


1652.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


61 


of  airy  notions  and  imaginations.  Then  trouble  and  dis- 
tress came  upon  me,  such  as  I  had  never  known ;  and  I 
separated  from  all  the  glory  of  the  world,  and  from  all  jny 
acquaintance  and  kindred,  and  betook  myself  to  the  com- 
pany of  a  poor  despised  people  called  Quakers.  And  now 
am  I  one  in  that  generation,  which  is  and  ever  was  hated 
by  the  world,  the  chief  priests  and  pharisees."  Being  thus 
brought  freely  to  an  acquaintance  with  tliat  which  he  had 
long  sought  in  vain  among  the  hireling  teachers  and  high 
professors  of  what  they  themselves  knew  not,  in  a  short 
time  (even  that  same  year,  viz.  1652,)  being  as  George  Fox 
declares,  "  endued  with  power  from  on  high,"  he  came  forth 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  approved  himself  a  faith- 
ful laborer  therein,  travelling  up  and  down,  and  preaching 
the  gospel  freely. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONVINCEMENT  OF  THOMAS  THOMPSON — AND  FURTHER 
TRANSACTIONS  OF  GEORGE  FOX. 

WE  are  not  informed  who  were  the  parents  of  this  indi- 
vidual, nor  of  the  place  of  his  birth,  but  this  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  in  the  north  of  England,  and  prob- 
ably between  the  years  1630  and  1640.  His  own  amount 
relates,  that  even  when  he  was  very  young,  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  incline  his  heart  to  seek  after  Him,  and  that 
when  he  was  about  eight  years  old,  he  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  this  language,  which  sounded  in  his  mental 
ear :  "  Kow  is  the  axe  laid  to  the  root  of  the  trees ;  every 
tree  therefore  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit,  shall  be 
hewn  down  and  cast  into  the  fire."    Strong  desires  were 


62 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1652. 


raised  in  his  youthful  mind,  that  he  might  become  one  of 
the  trees  bearing  good  fruit ;  and  listening  to  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  in  his  soul,  He  discovered  to  him  the  evil  of  many- 
things  practised  generally  by  such  as  he  then  was,  excited 
in  his  mind  an  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  preserved  him  from 
much  of  the  wickedness  which  prevailed  around  him.  For 
several  years  he  was  earnestly  engaged,  both  by  frequent 
attendance  on  those  who  were  accounted  the  most  able 
preachers,  and  by  a  diligent  perusal  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, which  he  much  loved,  to  obtain  an  understanding  of 
the  things  of  religion ;  but  his  mind  nevertheless  was  too 
much  outward,  knowing  not  the  Light  of  Christ  Jesus  to 
guide  him,  and  depending  unduly  on  instrumental  helps. 
But,  alas !  as  he  grew  up  and  increased  in  knowledge,  his 
heart  was  not  kept  so  near  the  Lord  as  formerly,  nor  was 
his  care  so  great  to  walk  in  holiness  of  life  before  Him ;  for 
he  began  to  take  up  with  a  false  rest,  apprehending  that 
all  was  well  with  him,  because  he  knew  much  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  could  repeat  great  part  of  the  sermons  and  other 
exercises  of  the  priests.  These  blind  leaders  of  the  blind 
also  increased  his  danger  by  flattering  him  with  smooth 
w^ords,  telling  him  that  he  was  a  hopeful  boy  and  needed 
not  to  doubt  that  it  would  be  well  with  him.  The  Lord, 
however,  in  great  mercy,  showed  him  that  his  soul  was  still 
in  want,  and  that  all  was  not  right  with  him,  though  he 
could  speak  so  much  of  God,  Christ  and  faith.  Good 
desires  were  again  raised  in  his  mind  towards  the  Lord; 
his  fs^^se  rest  was  broken  up ;  and  he  hungered  for  the 
bread  of  life  to  satisfy  his  longing  and  weary  soul.  This 
was  not  however  to  be  found  among  the  hirelings  and 
formal  professors  amongst  whom  he  had  been  seeking  the 
way  of  truth.  He  says,  "  then  I  went  to  some  meetings  of 
the  people  called  Independents ;  but  neither  there  could  I 
find  what  my  soul  wanted,  viz.  the  Life  of  Jesus,  which  I 
could  not  be  satisfied  without  the  enjoyment  of.    So,  being 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


63 


tired  out  with  going  from  one  to  another,  the  Lord  in  his 
goodness  was  pleased  to  make  known  to  me  that  the  man- 
made  ministers  were  not  of  Him,  but  were  such  as  ran,  and 
he  never  sent  them.  Therefore  they  did  not  profit  the  peo- 
ple at  all,  but  were  Babylonish  merchants,  which  made  a 
prey  upon  the  people.  And  this  word  sounded  in  me: 
*  Come  out  from  amongst  them  my  people ;  be  not  par- 
takers with  them  in  their  sins,  lest  ye  also  partake  of  their 
plagues.'  So  in  a  little  time  I  left  them,  and  grew  retired 
in  my  mind,  delighting  much  to  be  alone,  meditating  on 
the  things  of  God,  or  reading  such  books  as  were  published, 
of  the  experiences  of  those  that  had  any  openings  in  the 
way  of  life. 

"And  in  the  forepart  of  the  year  1652,  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  order  his  faithful  and  valiant  servant  and  mes- 
senger, dear  George  Fox,  into  these  parts ;  but  I  had  not 
then  opportunity  to  see  him,  though  I  greatly  desired  it. 
But  some  of  my  familiars  that  were  with  him,  gave  me  an 
account  of  his  manner  of  life,  and  also  of  his  doctrine. 
They  told  me,  that  in  his  behavior  he  was  very  reserved, 
not  using  any  needless  words  or  discourses  that  tended  not 
to  edification,  and  that  he  used  not  respect  of  persons;  very 
temperate  in  his  eating  and  drinking ;  his  apparel  homely, 
yet  decent ;  and  as  for  his  doctrine,  he  directed  people  to  the 
light  of  Christ  in  their  consciences,  to  guide  them  to  God. 

"At  the  hearing  of  these  things,  though  at  second  hand, 
the  Lord  was  pleased  mightily  to  work  upon  my  mind,  and 
brought  me  to  a  wonderful  retiredness ;  and  my  mind  was 
truly  turned  inward  to  wait  on  him  and  desire  his  teach- 
ings. So  by  degrees,  the  Lord  manifesting  one  thing  after 
another,  by  the  working  and  power  of  God,  self  came  to  be 
denied,  and  I  was,  in  many  things  humbled  to  the  cross ;  so 
that  several  of  my  neighbors  and  acquaintances  marvelled 
to  see  me  so  changed,  and  some  said  I  would  be  distracted. 
But  their  words  were  little  to  me;  for  as  I  obeyed  the  Lord, 
5* 


54 


HISTORICAL    MEMOIRS  OF 


[1652. 


I  found  peace  and  satisfaction,  and  the  return  of  God's 
love  into  my  bosom.  And  as  I  gave  up  any  thing  for 
truth's  sake,  I  found  peace,  and  more  strength  was  given 
me ;  so  that  I  can  truly  say,  it  is  good  to  keep  in  the  coun- 
sel of  God,  and  to  give  up  wholly  to  serve  him ;  for  he  is 
good  to  them  that  trust  in  him ;  and  they  that  faithfully 
serve  him  shall  in  nowise  lose  their  reward. 

'  After  I  had  for  some  time  been  thus  inwardly  exercised 
in  the  things  of  God,  and  the  work  of  the  Lord  prospered 
in  my  inward  parts,  this  word  arose  in  me :  ^  Have  not  the 
faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  respect  of  persons.' 
And  it  was  upon  me  to  bear  my  testimony  for  God,  in 
speaking  the  plain,  simple,  and  I  may  say,  pure  language 
of  Thee  and  Thou  to  every  particular  person,  of  what  de- 
gree or  quality  soever.  But  the  enemy  jDrevailed  with  me 
to  resist  the  motion  of  the  Spirit  of  Life;  and  so  a  veil 
came  over  my  heart,  and  the  pure  principle  which  justified 
me  while  I  was  faithful  to  God,  did  now  judge  and  con- 
demn me  for  my  disobedience.  Yet  I  persisting  in  it, 
stopped  the  work  of  God ;  and  the  enemy  who  had  thus 
prevailed  upon  me,  laid  other  baits  and  snares  to  catch  my 
feet  in,  and  drew  me  again  into  some  of  the  pleasures  of 
this  fading  world,  which  I  had  once  denied  myself  of  But 
great  is  the  mercy  and  compassion  of  the  Lord,  who  suf- 
fered me  not  long  to  rest  in  that  carnal  security,  but  was 
pleased  in  his  infinite  love  to  discover  to  me  my  loss,  and 
raised  desires  in  me  to  be  where  I  had  once  been,  in  my 
way  towards  Zion.  But  the  enemy  had  got  such  strength 
through  my  disobedience,  that  I  found  it  more  difficult 
again  to  get  into  the  way,  than  could  Avell  be  thought  of  by 
any  that  had  never  gone  out  thereof  Let  all  take  warn- 
ing not  to  give  way  to  the  enemy,  nor  resist  the  motion  of 
God's  Spirit  while  it  strives,  neither  *  despise  the  day  of 
small  things,'  lest  ye  fall  into  temptations,  and  anguish  and 
sorrow  come  upon  you." 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


55 


He  proceeds  to  relate  that  about  midsummer  of  the  year 
1652,  he  heard  of  a  people  raised  up  that  were  called  Qua- 
kers ;  which  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  heard  of  that 
name  being  given  to  any  people.  Desires  were  raised  in  his 
mind  to  be  acquainted  with  some  of  them,  and  accordingly 
in  the  Eighth  month,  hearing  that  William  Dewsbury  and 
some  other  Friends  were  come  to  Frodingham,  he  gladly 
embraced  the  opportunity  to  go  and  see  them.  "  And  I," 
says  he,  "being  on  my  master's  work,  at  Brigham,  could 
not  go  in  the  day,  but  determined  to  go  in  the  night,  and 
would  gladly  have  had  some  of  my  acquaintance  to  have 
gone  with  me.  But  the  night  being  very  dark,  none  would 
go ;  so  I  went  alone.  And  coming  into  the  room  where 
William  was,  I  found  him  writing ;  and  the  rest  of  his  com- 
pany were  sitting  in  great  silence,  seeming  to  be  much 
retired  in  mind,  and  fixed  towards  God.  Their  counte- 
nances, grave  and  solid  withal,  preached  to  me,  and  con- 
firmed what  T  had  before  believed,  that  they  were  the 
people  of  the  Lord.  After  a  little  time,  William  ceased 
writing,  and  many  of  the  town's-people  coming  in,  he  be- 
gan in  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  to  declare  the  truth. 
And  oh  I  how  was  my  soul  refreshed,  and  the  witness  for 
God  reached  in  my  heart ;  I  cannot  express  it  with  pen :  I 
had  never  heard  nor  felt  the  like  before ;  so  that  if  all  the 
world  say,  nay,  I  could  have  given  my  testimony,  that  it 
was  the  everlasting  truth  of  God.  And  in  the  same  month, 
my  mouth  was  livingly  opened,  to  declare  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  preach  repentance  to  the  people.  I  knew  a 
bridle  to  ray  tongue,  and  was  greatly  afraid  lest  I  should 
offend  the  Lord  in  thought,  word,  or  deed ;  and  the  word 
of  the  Lord  was  in  me,  '  Thou  shalt  not  do  thy  own  works, 
nor  think  thy  own  thoughts,  nor  speak  thy  own  words,  on 
this  my  holy  day.'  And  though  I  suffered  and  went 
through  many  exercises,  yet  the  Lord  bore  up  my  spirit 
and  carried  me  on,  while  I  abode  faithful  to  him,  to  the 
praise  of  his  own  name." 


56 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1652. 


"My  mouth  was  often  opened  in  the  congregations  of 
his  people,  to  praise  his  infinite  and  worthy  name ;  and  I 
often  accompanied  William  Dewsbury,  John  Whitehead, 
and  sometimes  James  Nayler,  and  other  early  ministers,  to 
and  fro  in  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire ;  and  the  glorious 
presence  of  the  Lord  God  was  richly  with  us,  to  the  over- 
coming of  our  immortal  souls,  the  comfort  of  his  heritage, 
and  praise  of  his  own  name." 

Among  those  who  were  reached  by  the  testimony  of 
George  Fox  to  pure  simple  Christianity,  and  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Light  of  Christ  in  the  conscience  of  man  as  his 
infallible  Director,  was  Justice  Hotliam,  a  man  of  a  tender 
spirit,  who  had  some  experience  of  God's  workings  in  his 
heart.  He  conversed  freely  with  George  Fox,  taking  him 
into  his  private  room ;  and  told  him  that  he  had  himself 
been  acquainted  with  this  Divine  teacher  for  ten  years,  and 
was  glad  that  the  Lord  did  now  publish  it  abroad  to  the 
people.  On  George  Fox  coming  there  a  second  time 
shortly  afterwards,  Justice  Hotham,  as  he  entered  his 
house,  took  him  in  his  arms  in  an  affectionate  manner, 
offered  him  the  free  use  of  his  house  as  if  it  were  his  own, 
expressed  his  exceeding  gladness  at  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
and  that  His  power  was  revealed,  and  in  other  respects  be- 
haved towards  him  with  remarkable  friendliness.  Another 
justice  also,  named  Robinson,  received  his  testimony  with 
great  openness,  and  told  him  it  was  well  that  he  exercised 
that  gift  which  God  had  given  him.  But  this  was  not  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  always  received  where  he  had 
occasion  to  sojourn.  Soon  after  this,  being  denied  any  re- 
freshment by  a  w^oman  at  whose  inn  he  stopped,  though  it 
was  near  the  end  of  the  Twelfth  month,  he  passed  the  night 
in  a  hay-stack,  exposed  to  the  rain  and  snow.  And  a  few 
weeks  afterwards,  coming  towards  night  into  a  town  called 
Patrington,  he  warned  the  priest,  who  was  in  the  street, 
and  the  peoj^le  also,  to  repent  and  turn  to  the  Lord ;  and 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


57 


after  preaching  to  those  who  gathered  around  him,  as  it 
grew  dark  he  went  to  seek  a  lodging  at  an  inn.  This  was 
denied  him,  and  he  then  desired  that  he  might  be  allowed 
a  little  meat,  or  milk,  and  offered  to  pay  them  for  it ;  but 
this  also  was  refused.  So  he  walked  out  of  the  town,  fol- 
lowed by  a  company  of  rude  fellows,  whom  he  bade  re- 
pent and  fear  the  Lord.  Coming  to  two  other  houses,  he 
was  again  refused  either  lodging  or  food.  By  this  time  it 
grew  so  dark  that  he  could  not  see  the  road ;  but  discover- 
ing a  ditch,  he  got  a  little  water  and  refreshed  himself ; 
and  being  weary  with  travelling,  sat  down  among  the  furze 
bushes  until  day  dawned,  and  then  passed  on.  At  a  small 
town  about  three  miles  off,  though  the  sun  was  scarcely  up, 
yet  the  people  set  upon  him,  seized  him,  and  violently  took 
him  back  to  Patrington  ;  where  all  the  town  was  in  an  up- 
roar. At  length  a  man  more  tender  than  the  rest,  called 
him  into  his  house,  and  gave  him  milk  and  bread,  a  wel- 
come refreshment,  for  he  had  not  eaten  for  some  days  be- 
fore. The  rude  people  of  the  town  had  him  before  a  jus- 
tice several  miles  distant;  who,  however,  could  find  nothing 
against  him ;  and  being  set  at  liberty  he  returned  to  Patring- 
ton, and  having  an  opportunity  to  declare  the  truth  to  the 
people,  he  was  the  means  of  convincing  a  large  number,  who 
joined  him  in  religious  fellowship.  The  person  who  had 
here  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  persecuting  him,  after- 
wards came  and  desired  his  forgiveness.  Soon  after  this, 
being  at  another  town,  and  again  refused  a  lodging,  he 
warned  the  people  to  repent,  directed  them  to  the  Light  of 
Christ,  and  leaving  them,  once  more  passed  the  night  under 
a  hay-stack.  Thus  was  this  dedicated  man,  whilst  seeking 
the  everlasting  welfare  of  his  fellow-creatures,  persecuted 
and  abused,  and  denied  even  the  necessaries  of  life.  But 
yet  a  seed  was  sown  in  many  places,  which  grew  and  pros- 
pered, even  under  the  treading  down  of  the  oppressive 
foot  of  man ;  and  sprang  up  and  bore  fruit  to  the  praise 


58 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1652. 


of  the  great  Husbandman,  who  had  sent  his  servant 
forth. 

Passing  through  Yorkshire  into  Lincolnshire,  George  Fox 
came  to  Gainsborough,  and  found  the  people  much  excited 
on  account  of  a  Friend  having  preached  in  the  market-place. 
A  man  came  into  the  house  into  which  George  had  entered, 
and  falsely  told  the  people  there  assembled  that  George  Fox 
had  declared  himself  to  be  Christ.  This  still  further  enraged 
them,  and  they  were  scarcely  restrained  from  laying  violent 
hands  upon  him.  But  he  was  moved  to  get  upon  a  table, 
and  with  power  and  authority  from  on  High  to  tell  them, 
that  "  Christ  was  in  them,  except  they  were  reprobates  ;  and 
that  it  was  Christ  the  eternal  power  of  God  that  spoke  in 
him — not  that  he  was  Christ."  The  people  generally  were 
satisfied,  except  this  false  accuser  and  some  whom  he  had 
brought  in.  George  Fox  called  him  Judas,  and  propheti- 
cally told  him  that  Judas's  end  would  be  his :  which  shortly 
proved  true ;  for  this  man,  like  the  betrayer  of  our  Lord, 
went  away  and  hanged  himself,  and  a  stake  was  driven  into 
his  grave,  as  a  legal  token  of  his  self-murder. 

The  holy  zeal  with  which  this  apostle  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity revived,  pursued  his  way,  was  not  to  be  damped  by 
false  accusations,  nor  his  courage  by  the  threats  of  the 
priests  and  magistrates.  The  Lord  had  shown  him,  he  says, 
that  "  if  but  one  man  or  woman  were  raised  up  by  His 
power,  to  stand  and  live  in  the  same  Spirit  that  the  prophets 
and  apostles  Avere  in,  who  gave  forth  the  Scriptures,  that 
man  or  woman  should  shake  all  the  country  in  their  pro- 
fession for  ten  miles  round  ;  for  people  had  the  Scriptures, 
but  were  not  in  that  same  light,  and  power,  and  spirit,  Avhich 
they  were  in  that  gave  forth  the  Scriptures."  He  exhorted 
his  fellow-men  wherever  he  went,  to  press  after  this  attain- 
ment, instead  of  leaving  them  satisfied,  as  the  time-serving 
priests  did,  with  reaching  half-way  to  the  kingdom  of  purity 
and  peace,    He  earnestly  insisted  on  the  important  practi- 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


69 


cal  truth,  not  only  that  we  must  aim  at  complete  freedom 
from  sin,  even  in  this  life,  but  that  it  was  possible  to  attain 
to  it,  through  obedience  to  the  manifestations  of  the  Light 
of  Christ  in  the  secret  recesses  of  the  heart. 

He  was  often  led  to  point  out  the  difference,  between  a 
pretended  high  value  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  a  sincere 
endeavor  to  live  in  the  spirit  which  they  inculcate.  He 
declared  also,  in  opposition  to  the  favorite  opinion,  that  the 
Scriptures  were  to  be  interpreted  by  the  humanly  cultivated 
powers  of  man,  "  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  given  forth 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  all  people  must  first  come  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  themselves,  by  which  they  might  know  God 
and  Christ,  of  whom  the  prophets  and  the  apostles  learned, 
and  by  the  same  spirit  know  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  for  as  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  in  them  that  gave  forth  the  Scriptures,  so 
the  same  Spirit  of  God  must  be  in  all  them  that  come  to 
understand  the  Scriptures." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONVINCEMENT   OF   FRANCIS    HOWGILL  —  GEORGE  WHfTE- 

HEAD  AND    JUDGE    FELl/s    FAMILY  GEORGE  FOX 

STILL  PERSECUTED  FIRST  CONVINCEMENTS  IN  LONDON. 

AMONG  the  most  eminent  of  those  who  were  convinced 
of  the  truth  during  this  year,  and  made  to  sit  together 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  were  Francis  Howgill  and 
George  Whitehead,  who  soon  after  became  able  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  and  the  former  of  whom  sealed  his  testimony 
to  the  truth  by  laying  down  his  life  in  prison,  for  the  faith 
in  which  he  most  surely  believed. 


60 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1652 


Francis  Howgill  was  a  tender  religious  man,  who  from 
conscientious  motives  had  left  the  Episcopalian  society,  and 
attached  himself  to  the  Independents  as  being  less  super- 
stitious. Plaving  been  trained  up  for  a  minister  by  a  uni- 
versity education,  he  became  a  teacher  among  those  w^hom 
he  joined.  Yet  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  were 
still  mercifully  extended  to  him,  making  him  dissatisfied 
with  his  attainments,  and  convincing  him  that  notwithstand- 
ing all  his  fasting  and  praying,  and  what  were  esteemed 
good  works,  yet  the  root  of  sin  still  remained  unsubdued 
within  him.  Although  the  common  doctrine  was,  that 
Christ  had  taken  the  guilt  of  sin  upon  himself,  yet  this  could 
not  satisfy  him,  because  his  conscience  told  him,  "his  ser- 
vant thou  art,  whom  thou  obeyest."  But  increasing  in 
spiritual  understanding,  it  was  shown  to  him,  that  the  Lord, 
according  to  ancient  prophecy,  would  in  these  latter  days 
teach  the  people  himself ;  and  it  seemed  also  to  him  that 
the  time  when  this  should  be  more  manifestly  the  case  was 
near  at  hand.  Some  time  afterwards,  on  the  same  day  in 
which  he  had  himself  been  preaching  in  Firbank  Chapel, 
George  Fox  preached  there  in  the  afternoon ;  and  when  he 
heard  him  call  the  attention  to  the  Light  of  Christ  in  man, 
as  the  way  to  salvation,  he  believed  this  to  be  the  word  of 
truth,  and  that  he  had  been  ignorant  of  the  princij^les  of 
true  religion.  Submitting  to  the  reproofs  of  this  inward 
Light,  he  saw  the  unfruitfulness  of"  all  his  former  labor, 
which  he  had  undertaken  in  his  own  time  and  way. 
Anguish  and  sorrow  seized  upon  him;  and  judgment  came 
over  all  his  self-righteousness.  And  being  from  this  time 
given  up  to  serve  the  Lord,  he  and  John  Audland,  who  was 
convinced  at  the  same  time,  and  who  had  taken  pay  for 
preaching,  in  Lancashire,  having  now  received  the  gospel 
freely,  and  the  word  of  life  from  Christ  himself,  in  obedience 
to  the  command  of  the  Lord,  returned  the  money  to  the 
parish  and  people  from  whom  they  had  received  it.  The 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIEIS'DS. 


61 


Son  of  God  came  to  be  more  and  more  revealed  in  him ;  he 
began  to  know  His  command,  and  powerfully  and  freely  to 
preach  Him  and  his  word  of  life;  which  so  enraged  the 
priests  and  magistrates,  that  within  this  same  year  he  was 
seized  and  locked  up  in  a  filthy  jail  at  Appleby,  and  kept 
there  a  prisoner  for  some  time. 

George  Whitehead  was  born  about  the  year  1636,  at  Sun 
Bigs,  in  Westmoreland.  He  was  educated  at  a  grammar 
school  in  the  neighborhood,  and  appears  to  have  made  such 
progress  in  his  literary  pursuits,  as  to  have  been  employed 
for  some-  time  as  a  teacher.  His  parents  had  a  view  of  edu- 
cating him  for  a  minister ;  but  his  mind  was  very  early  in 
life  visited  by  the  enlightening  influence  of  divine  grace : 
and  being  drawn  into  secret  inquiries  .after  a  knowledge  of 
true  religion,  he  was  enabled  to  see  how  those  among  whom 
he  had  been  partly  educated,  came  short  of  what  they  pro- 
fessed and  pretended  in  their  worship,  preaching  and  pray- 
ing; so  that  he  felt  restrained  from  intimately  uniting 
himself  to  them,  or  continuing  to  take  part  in  their  cere- 
monious forms  of  worship,  even  before  he  knew  any  thing 
of  the  people  called  Quakers.  Nevertheless,  the  good  desires 
which  the  Lord  had  raised  within  him,  after  repentance  unto 
life,  were  often  quenched,  and  his  mind  was  led  away, 
through  an  airy,  light  disposition,  after  music,  vain  mirth, 
and  other  follies.  Yet  the  Lord  mercifully  followed  him 
with  judgment  and  reproof  in  his  very  young  years,  and 
renewed  his  longings  after  the  right  way.  He  wanted  a 
true  support  to  his  mind,  more  substantial  than  what  he 
could  obtain  from  the  priests  and  professors  of  religion 
among  whom  he  had  walked ;  not  knowing  the  Light  of 
Christ,  which  convinced  him  of  sin,  and  would  lead  him  into 
the  paths  of  righteousness.  He  was  for  a  time  much  at  a 
loss,  earnestly  seeking  after  an  experience  of  true  religion  ; 
and  wandering,  as  one  bewildered,  looking  for  this  attain- 
ment among  those  whom  he  supposed  to  be  in  possession  of 
6 


62 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1653. 


some  higher  and  more  refined  views  respecting  spiritual 
gifts.    He  was  then  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 

After  a  short  time,  he  heard  of  some  people  called 
Quakers,  who  trembled  at  the  word  of  God ;  and  observing 
how  they  were  reviled  and  reproached  by  wicked  and  loose 
people,  he  was  induced  to  make  further  inquiry,  and  was 
led  by  the  Lord,  on  whom  he  relied  for  counsel,  to  believe 
that  they  were  His  people.  And  he  even  began  to  contend  for 
them  and  their  principles,  so  far  as  he  knew  them,  before  he 
had  attended  any  of  their  meetings,  or  heard  them  minister. 

But  finding  that  they  held  a  meeting  at  a  place  in  the 
same  county  where  he  was  born,  he  went  thither,  and  was, 
by  the  eminent  power  of  the  Lord  which  appeared  among 
them,  in  contriting  their  hearts,  and  bringing  them  into 
earnest  cravings  after  true  repentance  and  sanctification  of 
spirit,  much  confirmed  in  the  belief  that  he  must  leave  the 
high  professing  but  worldly-minded  priests,  and  unite  with 
this  poor  despised  people,  in  sitting  down  in  pure  dependence 
upon  the  Lord  alone,  and  thus  seek  ability  from  Him  to 
worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  His  convincement  took 
place  about  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  age.  Some  time 
after  this,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  powerful 
ministry  of  George  Fox ;  when  he  found  that  it  proceeded 
from  life  and  experience,  and  tended  to  bring  to  an  inward 
feeling  and  sense  of  the  life  and  powder  of  Christ,  and  the 
sanctifying  virtue  thereof  in  the  heart.  He  now  saw,  that 
to  be  made  wise  in  the  living  knowledge  of  God,  he  must 
become  a  fool  to  that  w^isdom  of  his  own  in  which  he  had 
trusted ;  and  thus  retiring  to  the  grace  of  God,  with  which 
he  was  secretly  visited,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  endue  him 
with  a  gift  in  the  ministry ;  and  the  following  year,  being 
between  17  and  18  years  old,  he  went  forth  on  foot  in  that 
holy  service,  to  the  convincing  of  many,  and  the  edification 
of  the  church. 

His  first  journey,  as  a  minister,  was  into  Yorkshire,  Lin- 


1656.] 


THE  vSOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


63 


3olnshire,  Norfolk,  and  some  adjacent  counties.  At  Norwich 
16  visited  in  prison,  Richard  Hubberthorn,  a  fellow-laborer 
n  the  same  glorious  gospel,  who  was  then  confined  in  an  old 
iecaved  stone  vault  or  hole  in  the  castle  wall,  for  his  faithful 
idherence  to  the  truth,  and  whose  testimony  and  suiferings 
lad  been  made  instrumental  to  the  gathering  of  others  in 
:hat  city  into  the  same  faith. 

In  this  neighborhood,  George  "Whitehead  held  many 
meetings,  and  numbers  were  convinced.  Several  priests 
attempted  to  oppose  him,  thinking  to  take  advantage  of  his 
fouth ;  but  the  Lord  gave  him  suitable  replies  to  their 
j  sophistry ;  and  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  he  exposed  some  of 
their  unsound  and  unscriptural  practices.  He  had  also  to 
contend  several  times  against  Antinomians  and  Ranters,  who 
falsely  asserted  the  unavoidable  continuance  of  sin  in  man 
as  long  as  he  lived,  and  pleaded  for  some  corrupt  liberties. 
These  deluded  men  w^ere  greatly  struck  with  the  baptizing 
power  which  accompanied  the  ministry  of  this  youth  of 
eighteen  years,  in  testifying  against  sin  and  wickedness,  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  the  pride  of  life,  and  the 
love  of  the  world  ;  and  being  brought  into  great  self-abase- 
ment and  fear,  they  earnestly  desired  his  counsel,  and  several 
of  them  became  reformed  in  their  lives  and  convinced  of  the 
truth. 

Though  so  young  in  the  service  of  his  divine  Master,  his 
ministry  in  the  counties  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  was  remark- 
ably attended  by  the  convincing  baptizing  power  of  the  Lord. 
Great  numbers  joined  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  many 
meetings  were  soon  established. 

Before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  performed 
another  journey  in  Suffolk,  accompanied  by  Richard  Clay- 
ton and  John  Harwood.  In  passing  through  the  town  of 
Bures,  Richard  Clayton  thought  it  his  duty  to  affix  a  paper 
on  the  door  of  the  public  worship-house,  containing  several 
Scripture  texts,  to  show  the  evil  fruits,  covetousness  and 


64 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OP 


[1656 


corruption  of  false  teachers  and  leaders.  For  this,  they  were 
all  three  taken  up,  and  Richard  Clayton  was  whipped  and 
sent  out  of  the  town.  George  Whitehead  and  John  Har- 
wood,  though  innocent  of  the  infraction  of  any  law,  after  | 
lying  more  than  two  months  in  prison,  were  tried  as  dis-! 
turbers  of  the  peace.  At  the  trial  they  were  scarcely  per-j 
mitted  to  speak  for  themselves,  the  judge  himself  acting  asi 
their  accuser,  and  were  fined  twenty  nobles  each.  Refusing 
to  acknowledge  any  guilt  by  paying  this  fine,  they  were 
remanded  to  prison,  where  they  continued  twelve  months, 
and  endured  extreme  privations  and  sufferings.  For  a  con- 
siderable time,  they,  with  three  other  Friends,  were  immured 
among  felons,  in  a  low  dungeon-like  place  under  a  market- 
house,  their  lodging  being  on  rye-straw  on  a  damp,  earthen 
floor.  The  jailer  was  much  enraged  at  the  Friends,  because 
they  testified  against  his  mckedness,  and  would  not  con- 
tribute to  his  habits  of  extortion  from  the  prisoners,  nor 
encourage  the  great  drunkenness  produced  by  his  bar-room 
in  the  prison,  by  purchasing  any  of  his  beer.  This  man,  as 
well  as  his  bar-keeper,  often  shamefully  abused  them.  The 
latter  once  violently  hit  one  of  them  with  a  stone,  and  took 
up  a  stool  also  as  a  missile,  and  often  beat  them  on  their 
faces  and  elsewhere  with  his  fists,  for  no  other  cause  than 
their  faithfully  reproving  his  wickedness.  Some  of  the  other 
prisoners  also,  encouraged  by  the  example  of  this  man  and 
the  jailer,  w^ould  frequently  take  away  their  food,  and 
several  times  beat  and  stoned  them,  and  threatened  to  kill 
them,  or  knock  them  on  the  head  ;  and  very  frequently  were 
they  struck  so  violently  by  the  jailer  or  his  agents,  that  the 
blood  gushed  from  their  mouths  and  noses. 

Some  of  their  fellow-prisoners  who  joined  with  them  in 
drinking  nothing  but  water,  participated  in  this  ill  usage ; 
and  after  a  time,  George  Whitehead  and  two  others  were  let 
down  by  a  ladder  into  a  dismal  noisome  dungeon,  twelve  feet 
deep  under  the  ground,  very  dark,  and  very  narrow.  At 


1658.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


65 


the  bottom,  was  an  iron  grate  "with  the  bars  more  than  twelve 
inches  apart,  extending  over  a  pit,  they  knew  not  how  deep, 
into  which  they  might  have  fallen,  but  for  the  kind  warning 
of  a  woman  who  saw  them  put  down  into  the  dungeon ;  so 
that  by  standing  close  to  the  sides  they  kept  themselves  from 
slipping  in.  They  were  however  preserved  through  all  this 
cruel  usage,  in  great  resignation,  and  were  favored  with  the 
sweet  sense  of  the  glorious  presence  of  the  Lord,  so  that  they 
could  even  sing  praises  to  his  name  in  the  midst  of  their 
sufferings. 

Whilst  they  were  in  this  dungeon,  some  of  their  Friends 
from  a  distance  came  to  visit  them,  but  were  not  suffered  to 
come  to  them  ;  and  so  wickedly  sordid  indeed  was  the  jailer, 
that  when  their  friends,  moved  by  compassion,  and  a  desire 
to  minister  to  their  wants,  would  approach  the  prison  door 
or  window,  he  or  his  company  would  cast  water  upon  them, 
and  refuse  them  all  access  unless  they  would  pay  money  to 
be  allowed  to  enter.  At  length,  after  fifteen  months'  im- 
prisonment, they  were  released  by  order  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
at  the  instance  of  their  friends  in  London,  particularly  of  a 
Friend  named  Mary  Sanders,  who  lived  in  the  Protector's 
family. 

The  next  winter  George  Whitehead  visited  London,  and 
was  instrumental  to  the  convincing  of  many ;  and  after  his 
return,  he  found  it  laid  upon  him  to  go  to  N ayland  to  hold 
a  meeting  with  the  inhabitants,  where  his  life  had  been 
threatened  on  a  former  occasion,  if  he  should  venture  to 
hold  a  meeting  there.  The  meeting  was  held  in  a  small 
orchard,  where,  after  waiting  on  the  Lord  for  some  time  in 
silence,  George  Whitehead  felt  himself  constrained  to  preach 
the  everlasting  gospel  without  fear  of  man.  But  after  he 
had  preached  a  considerable  time,  a  person  rushed  in  with 
a  constable  and  rude  company,  pulled  him  down  from  the 
stool  on  which  he  was  standing,  and  carried  him  off  to  the 
justice's  hall.  After  a  pretended  examination,  the  justice 
6* 


66 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


informed  him  that  he  was  to  be  whipped  severely  the  next 
day ;  that  if  he  came  thither  again,  he  should  be  branded 
on  the  shoulder  as  a  rogue ;  and  if  he  came  a  third  time,  he 
should  be  hanged.  George  exhorted  the  justice  to  repent- 
ance, and  told  him  that  notwithstanding  all  their  threaten- 
ings,  if  the  Lord,  whom  he  served,  should  require  his  return, 
he  must  obey  Him. 

The  next  day  the  sentence  was  put  in  execution.  George 
Whitehead  was  conveyed  into  the  market-place,  and 
stripped  to  the  waist ;  and  a  man  employed  by  the  constable 
laid  on  so  violently  with  a  long,  sharp  whip,  that  large 
stripes  and  cuts  were  visible  on  his  back  and  breast,  and 
the  blood  flowed  freely.  Many  of  the  spectators  wept  to  see 
this  cruelty,  and  some  cried  out  to  stop  it ;  but  the  innocent 
victim  was  borne  above  his  sufferings  by  the  power  of  the 
Lord,  and  was  enabled  to  sing  praises  to  His  Holy  name, 
in  that  he  had  been  accounted  worthy  to  suffer  for  His 
Truth's  sake.  After  the  execution,  he  was  permitted  to 
take  his  horse,  and  was  conveyed  out  of  the  county  by  con- 
stables ;  and  coming  into  Essex,  he  had  many  good  meet- 
ings, the  people  being  aroused  by  the  accounts  of  his  suffer- 
ings, and  anxious  to  meet  with  the  young  man  who  had 
been  so  cruelly  whipped  at  Nayland.  So  that  the  malice 
of  his  enemies  was  overruled,  to  the  spreading  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Truth  in  the  eastern  counties  of  England. 

The  year  1652,  was  also  productive  of  the  convincement 
of  the  wife  and  family  of  Judge  Fell,  of  Swarthmore,  in 
Lancashire.  Margaret  Fell,  a  descendant  of  the  martyr, 
Anne  Askew,  was  a  woman  of  a  very  superior  mind, 
highly  esteemed  by  men  of  eminence  in  the  neighborhood, 
for  her  natural  abilities,  and  her  religious  disposition.  She 
and  her  children  and  several  of  their  household  joined  the 
Society;  and  though  her  husband  did  not  entirely  leave 
his  former  profession,  yet  he  remained  ever  afterwards  very 
friendly  to  George  Fox  and  his  brethren,  and  their  house 


1652.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


67 


was  a  hospitable  resting-place  for  the  ministers  of  Truth 
for  many  years.  Some  time  after  the  decease  of  Judge  Fell, 
his  widow,  who  had  herself  become  a  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  travelled  extensively  in  its  service,  married  George 
Fox,  and  was  for  the  remainder  of  her  life  eminently  useful 
in  the  church,-  as  a  succorer  of  many  under  affliction  for 
the  gospel's  sake,  and  a  strengthener  of  the  hands  of  the 
standard-bearers. 

The  persecutions  of  various  kinds  with  which  George  Fox 
was  assailed,  during  the  year  1652,  were  indeed  enough  to 
discourage  any  man  not  supported  by  a  consciousness  that 
he  was  acting  under  the  immediate  authority  of  the  Al- 
mighty. A  few  of  them  may  be  briefly  recounted  before 
we  pass  on. 

At  Tickhill,  he  went,  under  religious  constraint,  to  the 
public  worship  house,  and  found  the  priest  and  the  chief 
persons  of  the  parish  in  the  chancel.  He  says,  "  I  went  up 
to  them,  and  began  to  speak ;  but  they  immediately  fell 
upon  me ;  and  the  clerk  up  with  his  Bible  as  I  was  speak- 
ing, and  struck  me  on  the  face  with  it,  so  that  my  face 
gushed  out  with  blood,  and  I  bled  exceedingly  in  the  steeple- 
house.  Then  the  j^eople  cried,  '  Let  us  have  him  out  of  the 
church : '  and  when  they  had  got  me  out,  they  beat  me  ex- 
ceedingly, and  threw  me  down,  and  over  a  hedge ;  and 
afterwards  they  dragged  me  through  a  house  into  the  street, 
stoning  and  beating  me  as  they  dragged  me  along,  so  that 
I  was  all  over  besmeared  with  blood  and  dirt.  They  got 
my  hat  from  me,  which  I  never  got  again.  Yet  when  I 
was  got  upon  my  legs  again,  I  declared  to  them  the  word 
of  life,  and  showed  them  the  fruits  of  their  teacher,  and 
how  they  dishonored  Christianity." 

Shortly  after  this,  he  came  at  night  to  a  small  tavern  on 
a  common,  and  found  there  a  company  of  rude  fellows 
drinking ;  and  because  he  refused  to  drink  with  them,  they 
struck  him  with  their  clubs.    He  reproved   them,  and 


68 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1652. 


walked  out  of  the  house  upon  the  common ;  but  one  of  these 
men  followed  him  out,  and  would  have  come  close  up  to 
him,  under  a  pretence  of  whispering  something  to  him ; 
when  George  perceived  that  he  had  a  knife,  and  therefore 
kept  clear  of  him,  warning  him  to  repent  and  fear  God. 
The  man  being  thus  defeated  in  his  wicked  attempt,  left 
George  on  the  common  during  the  night,  and  returned  into 
the  house. 

Having  visited  Friends  in  Westmoreland,  he  returned 
into  Lancashire ;  and  at  Ulverstone  on  a  lecture-day,  he 
felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  address  the  people  assembled  in  the 
public  meeting-house,  after  the  priest  had  finished  a  bluster- 
ing harangue.  They  were  quiet,  and  heard  him  gladly, 
until  a  justice  of  the  peace  stirred  them  up  against  him, 
inciting  them  to  break  the  peace,  in  tumultuously  falling 
upon  this  innocent  man.  They  got  into  a  great  rage, 
knocked  him  down,  kicked  him  and  trampled  on  him  in 
the  steeple-house ;  and  so  great  was  the  uproar,  that  some 
people  tumbled  over  their  seats  for  fear.  This  justice  at 
length  led  him  out  of  the  house,  and  bid  the  constables 
whip  him  and  put  him  out  of  the  town.  They  led  him 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  some  holding  him  by  his  collar, 
and  some  by  his  arms  and  shoulders,  and  thus  they  shook 
and  dragged  him  along.  Many  friendly  people  who  heard 
him  gladly  in  the  meeting-house,  were  also  knocked  down, 
and  had  their  heads  broken,  so  that  the  blood  ran  from 
several  of  them ;  and  Judge  Fell's  son  running  after,  to  see 
what  they  would  do  with  George  Fox,  they  threw  him  into 
a  ditch,  some  of  them  crying  out,  "  knock  the  teeth  out  of 
his  head."  The  officers  having  got  George  out  of  the  town, 
])eat  him  with  their  rods,  and  thrust  him  among  the  rude 
rabble ;  who,  having  furnished  themselves  with  hedge-stakes, 
lar?ye  sticks  and  holly  bushes,  fell  upon  him,  and  beat  him 
on  the  head,  arms  and  shoulders,  till  they  deprived  him  of 
sense,  and  he  fell  down  on  the  wet  common,  where  he  lay 


1652.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIEXDS. 


69 


for  some  time.  About  two  weeks  afterwards,  at  a  place 
called  Cockan,  in  Walney  island,  there  came  a  man  with  a 
pistol,  and  snapped  it  at  George  Fox ;  but  happily  it  would 
not  go  off ;  and  George  solemnly  addressing  the  man  on  his 
wickedness,  he  was  so  struck  by  the  power  of  the  Lord, 
that  he  trembled  for  fear,  and  went  and  hid  himself. 

The  next  morning,  crossing  a  part  of  the  sea  in  a  boat, 
as  soon  as  he  came  to  land,  about  forty  men  rushed  out 
with  staves,  clubs,  and  fishing-poles,  who  fell  upon  him, 
beating  and  kicking  him,  and  endeavoring  to  thrust  hira 
backward  into  the  sea.  But  he  went  up  into  the  midst  of 
them ;  when  they  furiously  laid  at  him  again,  knocked  him 
down,  and  stunned  him.  When  he,  came  to  himself,  he 
looked  up  and  saw  a  woman  throwing  stones  at  his  face, 
while  her  husband  was  lying  over  him,  to  ward  off  the 
stones  and  other  blows.  Some  of  these  people  had  per- 
suaded this  woman  that  George  Fox  had  "  bewitched  "  her 
husband,  and  had  promised  her  that  if  she  would  let  them 
know  when  he  came  thither,  they  would  be  the  death  of 
him.  But  the  Lord  preserved  his  faithful  servant  out  of 
the  hands  of  these  wicked  men.  George  having  at  length 
been  set  over  the  water  again,  came  to  the  town  on  the 
other  side,  when  he  was  assailed  by  the  rabble  with  flails, 
pitchforks,  and  staves,  crying,  "  Kill  him !  knock  him  on  the 
head !  "  etc. :  and  after  they  had  grossly  abused  him,  they 
drove  him  a  considerable  distance  from  the  town,  and  there 
left  him.  Margaret  Fell,  hearing  of  the  circumstance,  sent 
a  horse  to  convey  him  to  her  hospitable  mansion,  where  he 
was  well  cared  for  in  his  bruised  and  exhausted  condition ; 
and  the  woman  who  had  thrown  stones  at  him,  afterwards 
repented  of  her  wickedness  and  became  convinced  of  the 
truth,  as  did  also  some  others  of  those  bitter  persecutors. 

He  was  now  summoned  to  appear  before  the  court  at 
Lancaster ;  where  about  forty  priests  appeared  against  him  ; 
but  so  well  did  he  defend  himself  and  advocate  the  princi- 


70 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1654. 


pies  of  truth,  that  he  was  fully  discharged  in  open  court ; 
some  of  the  priests  were  publicly  rebuked  from  the  bench  ; 
Justice  Benson  and  the  mayor  of  Lancaster,  with  many 
others,  were  convinced ;  and  the  people  cried  out,  that  "  the 
Quakers  had  got  the  day,  and  the  priests  were  fallen." 

As  he  stayed  two  or  three  days  after  this  in  Lancaster, 
some  of  the  rude  people  plotted  together  to-  draw  him  out 
of  the  house,  and  throw  him  over  the  bridge  into  the  river ; 
but  being  defeated  in  this,  they  set  a  madman  and  another 
fellow  at  him  wath  sticks,  in  order  to  accomplish  their 
wicked  intent.  George  spoke  to  them  "in  the  Lord's 
mighty  power,"  which  chained  them  both  down,  and  made 
them  calm  and  quiet. 

It  was  not  till  the  year  1654,  that  any  ministers  of  the 
people  called  Quakers  appear  to  have  visited  the  city  of 
London ;  unless  Gervase  Benson,  who  was  there  in  1653, 
were  in  that  station,  which  is  somcAvhat  doubtful.  Several 
Friends'  books  however  had  been  printed  in  that  city 
during  the  year  last  mentioned.  In  the  beginning  of  1654 
some  tender  people  there  were  drawn  into  communion  with 
each  other  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth  operating 
upon  their  minds,  and  inclining  them  to  greater  spirituality 
and  a  closer  walk  with  God :  and  about  the  end  of  the  first 
month  in  this  year,  Francis  Howgill  and  John  Camm  vis- 
ited Oliver  Cromwell  on  behalf  of  their  suffering  brethren, 
and  went  to  some  of  the  public  meeting-houses,  declaring 
the  way  of  the  Lord.  This  spring  also,  two  women  from 
the  north,  one  of  whom  was  Isabel  Buttery,  came  to  Lon- 
don, and  became  acquainted  with  one  of  those  seeking 
persons,  Simon  Dring  of  Moorfields,  and  also  with  Amos 
Stodart,  who  from  conscientious  scruples  had  recently  re- 
signed his  commission  as  captain  in  the  army.  These 
women  brought  with  them  for  distribution,  copies  of  an 
epistle  from  George  Fox,  "  To  all  that  would  know  the  way 
to  the  kingdom;"  which  directed  people  to  turn  their 


1654.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  71 


minds  within,  where  the  voice  of  God  is  to  be  heard  ;  and 
walking  with  Amos  Stodart  and  Simon  Dring  in  the  sub- 
urbs, they  met  wdth  Ruth  Brown,  a  young  woman  of  about 
sixteen  years  of  age.  This  young  woman,  receiving  one  of 
the  epistles,  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  principles 
therein  laid  down,  and  thenceforth  joined  the  small  num- 
ber of  congenial  minds  who  then  began  to  meet  together  to 
wait  upon  God.  They  met  at  the  houses  of  Robert  and 
Simon  Dring ;  and  sometimes  Isabel  and  her  companion 
spoke  a  few  words  by  way  of  ministry.  In  the  Fifth  month 
of  that  year,  Francis  Howgill,  Richard  Hubberthorn,  Ed- 
ward Burrough,  and  Anthony  Pearson,  were  moved  to  visit 
the  hidden  seed  in  that  great  metropolis ;  who  having  meet- 
ings in  several  places,  their  ministrations  were  attended 
with  signal  success  in  gathering  into  the  fold  of  Christ 
many  that  were  "wai  ing  for  the  consolation  of  Israel." 
Meetings  of  Friends  were  soon  settled  in  various  parts  of 
the  metropolis — at  first  in  private  houses  —  until  the  So- 
ciety there  growing  too  large  for  these  to  accommodate,  a 
house  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Bull  and  Mouth,"  near 
Aldersgate  street,  was  hired  as  a  public  meeting-house.  This 
place  subsequently  became  the  scene  of  bitter  persecutions 
to  this  unoffending  people. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RISE  OF  THE  SOCIETY  IN  IRELAND  —  WILLIAM  EDMUNDSON. 

THERE  is  no  account  of  Ireland  being  visited  by  any 
ministers  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  previous  to  the 
year  1654.  The  first  person  who  publicly  espoused  its 
principles  in  that  country  appears  to  have  been  that  subse- 


72 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1654. 


quently  eminent  minister  of  the  Gospel,  William  Edmund- 
son. 

He  was  born  in  the  county  of  "Westmoreland,  England, 
in  the  year  1627,  and  when  about  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  went  into  the  army,  during  the  civil  wars,  and  contin- 
ued for  some  time  a  soldier  under  the  Parliament.  He  had 
often,  even  from  his  youthful  days,  experienced  the  good 
hand  of  the  Lord,  tendering  his  spirit,  and  bringing  him 
into  serious  thoughtfulnesS  respecting  the  eternal  welfare 
of  his  soul ;  and  while  he  was  serving  in  the  army  in  Scot- 
land under  Oliver  Cromwell,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bring 
matters  closer  home  to  him,  and  to  visit  him  by  the 
strivings  of  His  Spirit,  in  order  to  draw  him  out  of  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  world,  into  a  nearer  acquaintance  and  pre- 
cious communion  with  Christ,  revealed  within  as  the  power 
of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God.  In  1651,  he  returned 
with  the  army  to  England,  and  being  quartered  in  Derby- 
shire, he  there  heard  of  the  people  called  Quakers ;  and 
though  they  were  much  spoken  against,  he  found  his  heart 
secretly  drawn  towards  them  for  good.  He  however 
marched  again  into  Scotland,  and  then  left  the  army,  and 
returned  back  to  England.  About  this  time  he  married ; 
and  at  the  solicitation  of  his  brother,  who  was  a  soldier  in 
Ireland,  he  went  over  and  settled  at  Antrim,  entering  into 
mercantile  business.  Here  the  officers  of  the  regiment  in 
which  his  brother  served,  kindly  offered  him  the  usual  pay, 
without  his  being  obliged  to  perform  actual  duty,  or  neglect 
his  business ;  but  his  conscience  had  been  awakened  by  the 
Lord's  judgments,  and  he  declined  this  offer.  He  soon  sold 
off  his  stock  of  goods ;  and  going  over  to  England  to  pur- 
chase a  fresh  supply,  he  heard  of  George  Fox  and  James 
Nayler  being  in  the  north ;  and  feeling  a  great  desire  to 
meet  with  them,  he  went  to  a  place  where  James  Nayler 
was,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  hearing  him  discourse  of 
the  things  of  God's  kingdom,  and  the  work  of  regeneration. 


1654.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


73 


And  though  James's  words  were  not  many,  yet  they  were 
so  powerful,  and  so  fully  reached  and  answered  the  testi- 
mony of  the  divine  witness  in  his  own  mind,  that  his  heart 
was  opened  to  receive  the  word  preached,  and  to  confess 
that  it  was  indeed  the  truth.  He  was  now  brought  into 
great  exercise  of  spirit;  his  former  ways  were  "hedged 
up ; "  and  many  things  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed 
were  shown  to  him  in  the  Light  of  Christ,  to  be  incompat- 
ible with  the  purity  and  entire  obedience  to  which  he  was 
called.  He  flinched  not  however  from  the  hand  of  the 
Lord,  for  his  sins  were  set  clearly  before  him,  and  he  felt 
that  he  must  be  purged  from  them  through  judgment. 
And  returning  shortly  to  Ireland,  the  Lord's  hand  was 
mercifully  laid  upon  him,  while  at  sea,  producing  great 
wrestlings  and  conflicts  of  spirit;  under  a  strong  temptation 
to  land  his  goods  clandestinely  and  avoid  paying  the  duty ; 
but  this  he  was  enabled  to  withstand.  He  landed  at  Car- 
rickfergus ;  and  rode  twelve  miles  to  his  own  home.  His 
brother  meeting  him  at  the  door,  offered  the  usual  saluta- 
tion, probably  bowing  and  using  the  empty  complimentary 
phrases  so  ready  in  the  mouths  of  men  of  the  world.  The 
Lord's  power  that  instant  so  seized  upon  William,  that  he 
could  not  join  in  what  he  now  saw  to  be  vanity;  and  he 
was  broken  into  many  tears.  His  wife  and  brother  were 
amazed  at  the  change,  but  made  no  opposition. 

He  had  now  to  undergo  a  further  trial  of  faith,  in  pass- 
ing his  goods  at  the  custom-house.  The  officers  required 
the  usual  oath,  and  would  have  seized  his  goods ;  but  he 
firmly  told  them  that  he  could  not  swear,  for  Christ  had 
forbidden  it.  This  was  strange  to  them,  having  never 
known  it  objected  to  before  ;  and  his  serious  deportment,  his 
refusal  to  put  off"  his  hat  in  compliment  to  them,  and  his 
steady  adherence  to  the  simple  language  of  Thou  and  Theey 
were  very  oflTensive ;  but  after  much  difficulty  he  at  length 


7 


74 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIKS  OF  [1654. 


obtained  the  clearing  of  his  goods,  and  brought  them  safely 
home. 

His  spiritual  conflicts  continued,  his  sleep  often  departed 
from  him,  and  deep  were  the  baptisms  into  which  his  soul 
was  plunged,  for  its  purification  from  every  defilement.  He 
had  no  outward  adviser  to  depend  upon,  and  would  have 
gone  far  for  the  company  of  an  experienced  Friend ;  but  he 
was  thus  mercifully  taught  to  depend  on  the  Lord  alone  for 
all  his  fresh  springs  of  life  and  strength. 

After  a  time  there  came  into  the  country  one  Major 
Bousfield,  who  professed  to  be  a  very  knowing  man  in  the 
things  of  religion,  and  spoke  plausibly  of  his  unity  with 
George  Fox  and  James  Nayler.  William  Edmundson  went 
to  see  him,  and  heard  abundance  of  talk,  and  was  at  first 
glad  to  think  that  he  had  met  with  one  so  knowing,  and  so 
capable  of  advising  him  in  his  great  troubles.  But  Bous- 
field advised  him  to  be  cheerful  and  merry,  and  not  to  look 
at  these  inward  troubles,  which  he  represented  as  the  work 
of  the  enemy,  to  bring  him  into  despair.  This  doctrine  was 
very  comfortable  to  the  natural  inclinations,  and  love  of 
ease  to  the  flesh  prompted  him  to  take  hold  of  it.  It  seemed 
quickly  to  heal  his  maladies  without  the  daily  cross  of 
Christ,  or  self-denial.  But  this  false  healing  lasted  only 
about  a  week.  The  Lord  in  great  mercy  pursued  him,  and 
let  him  see,  in  that  light  which  cannot  deceive,  that  some- 
thing was  yet  in  him  that  withstood  the  work  of  God,  and 
fhat  this  must  be  crucified  by  the  Lord's  judgments,  and  by 
the  daily  cross  of  Christ  Jesus.  "  Then,"  says  he,  "  I  saw 
there  was  no  physician  but  the  Lord  alone ;  and  I  also  saw 
where  Bousfield  was,  and  all  of  that  spirit ;  that  they  took 
up  their  rest  and  satisfaction  in  a  talk  and  notion  of  religion, 
without  the  true  cross  of  Christ,  that  should  mortify  their 
lusts,  wills,  and  vile  affections,  and  crucify  them  to  the 
world,  and  the  world  unto  them ;  being  at  ease  in  a  form  of 
godliness,  without  the  real  work  of  the  power." 


1655.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


75 


Early  in  the  year  1654,  Myles  Halhead,  James  Lancaster, 
and  Miles  Bateman  visited  Ireland,  and  had  some  inter- 
views with  the  rulers  and  the  officers  of  the  army,  but  soon 
returned  to  England.  William  was  then  removing  from 
Antrim  to  Lurgan.  His  wife  and  brother  soon  became  con- 
vinced of  that  truth  which  had  so  powerfully  operated  upon 
himself ;  and  they  met  together  in  his  house  twice  a  week, 
to  wait  on  the  Lord  in  silence.  After  a  short  time,  four 
more  were  convinced  and  joined  with  them ;  and  this  was 
the  first  settled  meeting  of  Friends  in  Ireland.  A  number 
of  sober  people  were  after  a  w^hile  attracted  to  them,  and 
the  name  of  Friends,  and  reputation  of  the  way  of  Truth 
was  spread  abroad. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Great  Head  of  the  church  saw 
meet  to  endow  William  Edmundson  with  a  gift  in  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel  among  this  little  company ;  and 
though  he  was  under  great  fear  of  being  deluded  by  a 
wrong  spirit,  yet  faithfully  obeying  the  divine  call,  and 
waiting  on  the  gift  in  all  humility  and  watchfulness,  he  was 
gradually  enlarged  in  experience  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
heavenly  kingdom,  and  fitted  for  extensive  usefulness  in  the 
church.  Being  moved  to  go  to  the  public  worship-house  at 
Lurgan,  to  declare  the  truth  to  the  people,  he  was  much 
beaten  and  abused ;  but  his  testimony  reached  the  con- 
sciences of  several  of  the  congregation,  of  whom  two  indi- 
viduals followed  him  out  of  the  house  and  joined  with 
Friends. 

The  next  Friend  who  came  into  Ireland  was  John  Tiffin, 
who  spent  some  time  with  the  small  company  at  Lurgan, 
occasionally  speaking  a  few  words  among  them,  to  their 
edification  and  comfort.  William  Edmundson  accompanied 
him  to  several  places,  where  they  had  good  service,  many 
beginning  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  those  principles  which 
they  held  forth.  But  one  of  their  most  prominent  testi- 
monies being  levelled  against  all  hire  for  preaching  the 


76 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1655. 


gospel,  the  priests  began  to  be  alarmed,  and  incensed  the 
magistrates  against  Friends,  as  holding  "  damnable  doc- 
trines," and  being  "  led  away  with  the  delusions  of  Satan." 
Their  pride  too  was  wounded,  by  the  refusal  of  Friends  to 
give  them  the  usual  complimentary  salutations,  or  to  address 
them  singly  in  the  plural  number.  This  they  could  not 
suffer,  and  accordingly  beset  Friends  with  frequent  abuse, 
and  sometimes  with  stones  and  blows. 

William  and  John  went  to  Belfast,  where  they  could  find 
but  one  inn  that  would  admit  them  to  lodge.  John  w^as 
very  desirous  of  obtaining  an  open  door  for  preaching  the 
word  of  Truth  in  that  town ;  but  the  people  shut  their  ears, 
doors,  and  hearts  against  it  and  them.  Being  disappointed 
in  all  their  endeavors  to  obtain  a  room  in  which  to  hold  a 
meeting,  they  went  to  a  place  near  the  town,  where  three 
lanes  met,  and  there  sat  down  and  waited  on  the  Lord. 
People  gathered  about  them  in  wonder,  and  they  thus  had 
an  opportunity  of  directing  their  attention  to  the  Spirit  of 
God  in  their  own  hearts,  and  spreading  the  sound  of  the 
Gospel  through  the  land.  John  Tiffin  soon  after  returned 
to  England ;  but  the  Truth  gained  ground  and  prevailed, 
and  Friends  increased  in  number,  and  were  preserved  in  a 
lowly  watchful  state  of  mind,  which  made  their  very  coun- 
tenances preach  to  their  sober  neighbors.  John  Shaw  (who 
with  his  family  was  convinced  about  this  time)  often  after- 
wards said  that  William  Edmundson's  words  and  deport- 
ment were  a  means  of  convincing  him  of  the  truth. 

The  next  messenger  of  the  gospel  sent  into  Ireland  was 
Richard  Clayton,  whom  also  William  Edmundson  accom- 
panied in  his  journey,  both  of  them  travelling  on  foot.  At 
Coleraine  they  preached  to  the  people  in  the  streets,  but 
being  banished  from  the  town,  they  went  and  lodged  in  a 
cabin  among  the  mountains.  They  had  two  meetings  at 
Londonderry,  where  a  family  of  five  persons  were  convinced, 
and  the  governor  being  at  both  meetings  acknowledged, 


1655.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


77 


with  several  others,  the  truth  of  what  was  testified.  At 
several  other  places  they  were  made  instrumental  to  -the 
convincement  of  many  tender  seeking  individuals,  and 
some  meetings  were  soon  settled,  particularly  near  Kilmore, 
and  at  the  Grange  below  Antrim,  and  also  at  Toberhead. 
But  the  priests  became  more  and  more  enraged,  and  put 
William  Edmundson  in  prison  at  Armagh ;  where  the  Lord 
was  his  strength,  in  his  own  conscious  weakness,  and  His 
power  enabled  him  to  confound  the  sophistry  of  the  priest 
and  the  justice,  and  the  jailer  could  not  bear  to  look  him  in 
the  face.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  remained  long  in 
prison ;  for  at  his  examination  the  people  were  satisfied  of 
his  innocence,  and  the  court,  ashamed,  of  his  commitment, 
set  him  at  liberty.  He  went  over  to  England  this  year,  on 
a  visit  to  George  Fox,  whom  he  had  not  before  met  with. 
George  was  tenderly  affected,  and  heard  with  gladness  of 
the  progress  of  Truth  in  Ireland.  He  took  William  Ed- 
mundson into  an  orchard,  where  he  kneeled  down  and 
prayed ;  and  afterwards  sent  by  him  a  short  epistle  to  the 
Friends  in  Ireland,  exhorting  them  faithfully  to  wait  on 
that  Power  which  had  convinced  them,  and  dwell  in  the 
life,  love,  power  and  wisdom  of  God,  and  in  love  one  with 
another,  and  with  God.  Edward  Burrough  and  Francis 
Howgill  had  gone  over  to  Ireland,  and  George  Fox  desired 
William  Edmundson  to  join  them  on  his  return.  These 
friends  were  eminently  serviceable  in  that  island,  par- 
ticularly in  the  province  of  Munster,  many  receiving  their 
testimony  and  adhering  to  the  doctrine  they  preached.  At 
Bandon,  Edward  Cook,  a  man  of  great  parts,  who  had  been 
a  cornet  of  horse  in  Oliver  Cromwell's  own  troop,  and 
receiver  to  Lord  Cork,  was  with  his  wife  convinced,  and 
remained  a  steadfast  and  useful  member.  Several  others 
there  also  joined  the  Society.  At  Limerick,  attempting  to 
speak  to  the  people  in  the  public  meeting-house,  they  were 
run  upon  by  a  mob,  and  put  out  of  the  town  ;  but  as  they 
7* 


78 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1655. 


rode  along,  Edward  Burrough  preached  through  the  streets 
on  horseback,  and  when  outside  of  the  gates,  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  speaking  to  a  great  multitude  who  assembled 
there,  directing  them  to  Christ  Jesus,  a  measure  of  whose 
Spirit  was  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal ;  and  several 
were  convinced.  Several  also  were  convinced  by  these 
Friends  at  Kinsale,  among  whom  was  Susanna  Worth,  wife 
of  Edward  Worth,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Killaloe,  who 
suffered  much  from  her  husband,  but  lived  and  died  in  unity 
with  Friends. 

This  year  also  came  over  Elizabeth  Fletcher  and  Eliza- 
beth Smith,  who  were  the  first  Friends  who  held  a  settled 
meeting  in  Dublin,  and  the  first  also  who  came  to  Cork, 
where  many  were  convinced. 

About  this  time  a  singular  exercise  fell  upon  William 
Edmundson,  as  he  was  attending  a  fair  on  business  at 
Antrim ;  by  which  he  was  instructed  in  the  benefit  of  faith- 
fully attending  to  the  secret  intimations  of  the  divine  Moni- 
tor, saying,  "this  is  the  way,  walk  in  it,"  even  when  he 
might  not  see  immediately  the  intention  of  the  Almighty  in 
thus  leading  him  by  a  way  that  he  knew  not.  Returning 
with  his  brother  late  from  the  fair,  they  proposed  to  lodge 
at  Glenavy,  six  miles  on  their  way  homeward ;  but  before 
they  arrived  there,  William  was  introduced  into  a  great 
exercise  of  mind,  accompanied  with  an  intimation,  the  source 
of  which  he  believed  to  be  the  divine  Spirit,  that  his  shop 
was  in  danger  of  being  robbed  that  night,  but  that  he  w^as 
to  go  back  towards  Clough ;  and  being  much  perplexed 
under  the  apprehension  of  danger  to  his  property  on  the  one 
hand  if  he  went  not  home,  and  on  the  other  hand  not  know- 
ing wherefore  he  should  be  required  to  go  back  to  Clough, 
he  cried  earnestly  to  the  Lord,  to  be  preserved  from  follow- 
ing a  delusive  spirit,  and  that  he  might  be  directed  what 
course  to  pursue.  On  which  he  received  a  clear  intimation, 
that  the  same  power  which  required  him  to  go  back,  would 


1655.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


79 


preserve  his  property  from  harm.  Lodging  at  Glenavy,  he 
slept  but  little ;  but  in  the  morning,  not  daring  to  disobey 
so  clear  a  command,  he  let  his  brother  proceed  homewards, 
while  he  went  himself  to  Clough.  Two  female  ministers 
from  London,  Anne  Gould  and  Julian  Wastwood,  had 
recently  come  into  Ireland,  and  after  passing  through  much 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  island,  on  f©ot,  wading  rivers  and 
dirty  miry  ways  during  the  cold  weather  of  winter,  they 
came  to  Clough.  Anne  being  a  delicate  woman,  was  much 
exhausted,  and  staying  there,  the  enemy  of  all  good  persuaded 
her  that  God  had  forsaken  her,  and  that  she  was  there  to  be 
destroyed ;  so  that  she  fell  into  despair.  William  Edmund- 
son  knew  nothing  of  these  women,  but  his  feet  were  directed 
to  the  inn  where  they  were  staying.  Anne  was  overwhelmed 
under  mental  trouble,  but  he  was  made  the  instrument  of 
her  consolation,  so  that  she  entirely  revived,  and  rejoiced  in 
the  consciousness  that  she  had  escaped  from  a  great  tempta- 
tion. He  assisted  them  on  their  journey  with  his  horse  as  far 
as  Carrickfergus,  whence  going  home  he  sent  a  conveyance 
for  them  to  his  house. 

On  reaching  his  home,  he  found  that  on  the  night  when 
the  foregoing  exercise  <iame  upon  him,  the  shop-window  was 
broken  down  by  robbers,  and  fell  with  such  violence  on  the 
counter  as  to  awaken  his  family,  and  the  thieves  being 
frightened  ran  away.  "  So,"  says  he,  "  I  was  confirmed  that 
it  was  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  said,  *  that  which  drew  me 
back  should  preserve  my  shop ; '  and  I  was  greatly 
strengthened  to  obey  the  Lord  in  what  he  required ;  for  I 
was  much  afraid,  lest  at  any  time  my  understanding  should 
be  betrayed  by  a  wrong  spirit ;  not  fearing  the  loss  of  goods, 
nor  sufferings  for  the  truth,  its  testimony  being  more  to  me 
than  all  other  things," 

About  this  year  or  the  next,  a  number  of  Friends  w^ent  to 
Limerick  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  and  were  instru- 
mental in  convincing  several.  These  new  converts  however 
being  but  weak,  for  a  time  continued  to  go  to  hear  one 


80 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1656. 


Kobert  Wilkinson,  a  captain  in  the  army,  a  man  much 
esteemed,  but  greatly  given  to  religious  disputation,  and 
much  a  stranger  to  that  silent  and  humble  waiting  in  the 
divine  Light,  which  would  mortify  the  carnal  will,  and 
bring  down  that  disposition  which  would  busily  but  unprofit- 
ably  intermeddle  in  spiritual  matters.  Him,  however,  these 
newly  convinced  oneS  went  to  hear,  not  seeing  through  the 
shallowness  of  the  man ;  until  one  Abraham  Newbold  was 
moved  to  come  from  Waterford  thither,  who  going  into  the 
meeting  where  Captain  Wilkinson  was  preaching,  stood  up, 
and  with  a  strong  voice,  and  the  liberty  much  exercised  in 
the  congregations  of  that  day,  cried  out,  "  Serpent,  be  silent ! " 
Wilkinson  hearing  these  few  but  potent  words,  would  have 
entered  into  dispute,  and  inquired  by  what  spirit  Abraham 
spoke ;  to  which  the  latter  merely  replied,  "  Thou  knowest 
not."  The  preacher  attempted  to  proceed,  but  was  utterly 
confounded,  and  carried  out  of  the  meeting.  The  next 
meeting-day  also  he  was  taken  out  fainting,  and  from  that 
time  ceased  preaching  any  more.  These  convinced  persons 
afterwards  became  more  enlightened  in  their  understandings, 
met  together  in  silence,  and  bore  a  faithful  testimony  against 
the  fashions  and  manners  of  the  world ;  so  that  they  had  to 
bear  their  share  of  reproach  and  imprisonment,  and  their 
neighbors  were  even  prohibited  by  the  magistrates  from 
purchasing  anything  from  them  in  the  way  of  their  trade. 

We  have  now  briefly  traced  the  steps  of  some  of  those 
pioneers  of  the  spiritual  army,  who  first  proclaimed  in  word 
and  in  life  the  pure  principles  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
Ireland.  We  have  seen  that  in  common  with  their  brethren 
in  England,  they  had  to  stem  the  current  of  prevailing  modes 
of  thought,  and  boldly  oppose  the  most  favorite  and  cherished 
practices  of  the  community  around  them ;  for  they  were 
men  who,  in  the  Light  of  Christ,  seeing  through  the  empti- 
ness of  mere  profession  without  substance,  and  having  them- 
selves felt  the  sorrowful  eflfects  of  living  in  a  dependence  on 
outward  rites  and  ceremonies,  could  not  but  cry  aloud  against 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


81 


the  corruptions  whicli  successive  ages  had  introduced  into 
the  professing  church,  and  which  were  greatly  hindering 
those  "who  were  entering"  with  sincere  hearts,  into  the 
kingdom.  This  brought  them,  of  course,  into  suffering  at 
the  instigation  of  the  priests,  whose  influence  their  principles 
were  so  directly  calculated  to  overturn ;  and  many  were  the 
days  and  weeks  and  months  passed  by  these  faithful  wit- 
nesses in  dungeons  and  noisome  prisons,  for  the  word  of  God 
and  the  testimony  of  Jesus  ;  though  it  does  not  appear  that 
in  Ireland  the  attempts  to  put  them  down  by  force  were  so 
systematic  or  so  violent  as  in  some  other  parts.  The  rabble 
were  guilty  of  much  personal  abuse,  set  on  by  their  priests, 
and  the  magistrates  inflicted  grievous-  imprisonments ;  but 
beyond  this  they  seem  to  have  been  restrained  by  the  power 
of  Him  whose  will  had  called  the  Society  into  existence,  and 
who  caused  the  plant  of  his  right-hand  planting  to  prosper 
even  under  the  foot  of  the  oppressor.  William  Edmundson, 
who  had  now  given  up  his  shop,  and  taken  a  farm  in  the 
county  Cavan,  thus  describes  the  state  of  the  little  band  of 
Friends  in  Ireland,  about  twelve  years  after  he  had  himself 
openly  espoused  its  cause : 

"  Truth,"  says  he,  "  was  much  spread,  and  meetings  set- 
tled in  several  places ;  and  many  being  convinced  and 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  were  added  to  Friends. 
But  sufferings  increased  for  not  paying  tithes  and  priests' 
maintenance,  and  towards  repairing  their  worship-houses, 
for  not  observing  their  holy-days,  so  called,  and  such  like. 
They  fleeced  us  in  taking  our  goods,  and  imprisoned  some. 

"  In  those  days  the  world  and  the  things  of  it  were  not 
near  our  hearts ;  but  the  love  of  God,  his  truth  and  testi- 
mony, lived  in  our  hearts ;  we  were  glad  of  one  another's 
company,  though  sometimes  our  outward  fare  was  very 
mean,  and  our  lodging  on  straw.  We  did  not  mind  high 
things,  but  were  glad  one  of  another's  welfare  in  the  Lord  ; 
and  his  love  dwelt  in  us.  I  was  often  abroad  in  Truth's 
service,  visiting  Friends,  and  getting  meetings  in  several 


82 


HTSTORTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


places.  I  was  moved  to  travel  into  Leinster,  and  went 
from  place  to  place,  as  the  Lord's  good  Spirit  guided  me." 

"  I  went  to  Mullingar,  and  lodged  there  one  night,  where 
was  a  trooper  that  was  convinced,  who  rode  with  me  several 
miles  the  next  day,  and  continued  coming  to  meetings.  I 
came  that  night  to  Finagh  ;  but  the  inn-keepers  refused  me 
lodging,  for  they  knew  I  was  a  *  Quaker.'  It  was  winter, 
and  cold  weather ;  so  I  inquired  for  the  constable,  and  told 
him  he  must  provide  me  lodging,  for  I  was  a  traveller,  had 
money  to  pay  for  what  I  should  have,  and  had  been  at  the 
inns,  where  they  refused  me  lodging.  He  kept  an  ale-house, 
and  had  also  refused  me ;  but  after  much  discourse,  he  told 
me  I  must  be  content  with  such  lodging  as  he  had  for  me. 
I  told  him  to  let  me  have  a  room  with  a  fire,  and  hay  for 
my  horse,  and  I  would  be  content.  So  I  alighted,  went 
into  the  house,  and  there  were  troopers  drinking.  They 
soon  perceived  what  I  was,  and  began  to  scoff,  and  ask  me 
many  questions,  which  I  answered  in  my  freedom ;  but 
when  I  '  thee^d'  and  'thou'd'  them  in  our  discourse,  they 
were  very  angry ;  and  one  of  them  swore,  if  I  '  thou'd '  him 
again,  he  would  cleave  my  head.  But  in  our  discourse, 
when  it  came  in  its  place,  I  '  thou'd '  him  again  ;  and  he 
starting  up  in  anger,  drew  his  sword ;  but  one  of  his  cor- 
porals sitting  by  him  stopped  him,  and  commanded  him  to 
put  up  his  sword,  for  there  should  be  no  cleaving  of  heads 
there ;  so  caused  the  troopers  to  go  to  their  quarters ;  but 
he  stayed  with  me  discoursing  late  in  the  night,  and  was 
convinced,  being  tender,  ireceived  the  Truth,  and  came  to 
meetings. 

"  About  this  time  we  had  a  meeting  at  Belturbet,  and  the 
Lord's  power  and  presence  was  with  us  ;  but  the  provost  of 
the  town  was  an  envious  man,  who  came  with  some  rude 
people,  broke  up  our  meeting,  and  took  us  to  prison,  both 
men  and  women.  We  were  all  night  in  a  very  cold  place, 
and  the  women  mightily  pinched  with  cold,  it  being  frost 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEN"DS. 


83 


and  snow.  The  next  morning  he  set  all  the  other  Friends 
at  liberty,  but  me  he  put  in  the  stocks  in  the  market-place; 
and  people  gathered  about  me,  where  I  had  an  opportunity 
to  preach  the  truth  to  them ;  which  they  heard  with  sober- 
ness, were  tender,  and  reflected  much  upon  the  provost  for 
abusing  us. 

"  Robert  Wardell  then  (being  but  a  boy)  told  the  pro- 
vost, he  had  set  a  better  man  than  himself  in  the  stocks, 
and  there  was  a  time  when  such  as  he  durst  not  have  med- 
dled with  me :  wherefore  the  provost  took  him,  and  set  him 
in  the  stocks  by  me.  But  his  father  heard  of  it,  and  threat- 
ened the  provost  with  the  law ;  so  Robert  Wardell  was 
soon  taken  out  of  the  stocks ;  who  being  convinced,  kept 
with  Friends,  and  afterwards  became  a  serviceable  man  for 
Truth,  and  a  preacher  of  it. 

"  The  people  were  much  dissatisfied  with  the  provost ;  so 
he  sent  his  ofiicer  to  let  me  loose ;  who  opened  the  stocks, 
and  bade  me  *  take  out  my  leg,  for  I  might  go  my  way.'  I 
told  him,  *  I  had  been  grossly  abused,  and  made  a  public 
spectacle  to  the  people,  as  though  I  had  done  some  great 
offence,  but  I  was  not  convicted  of  the  breach  of  any  law ; 
so  let  the  provost  come  himself  and  take  me  out,  for  he  put 
me  in.'  The  provost  came  and  opened  the  stocks,  bidding 
me  '  take  out  my  leg.'  I  told  him,  *  No  ;  for  he  had  made 
me  a  spectacle  to  the  people,  and  I  knew  no  law  that  I  had 
broken  ;  but  let  him  take  out  my  leg,  that  put  it  in.'  So 
he  opened  the  stocks  with  one  hand,  and  took  my  leg  out 
with  the  other. " 


84 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1655. 

i 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

CONVINCEMENT  OF  HUMPHREY  BACHE. 

THE  conversion  of  Humphrey  Bache,  about  the  year  1655, 
from  the  maxims  and  religion  of  the  world,  to  those 
pure  and  undefiled  principles  of  Truth  under  which  many 
seeking  souls  were  now  gathering  into  a  visible  church,  was 
a  remarkable  instance  of  the  efficacy  of  the  Light  of  Christ, 
received  and  cherished  in  the  mind,  not  only  to  show  forth 
sin  in  its  true  character  in  a  manner  widely  different  from 
the  maxims  of  human  policy,  but  also,  in  its  cleansing  op- 
erations on  the  heart,  to  constrain  the  subject  of  its  power 
to  righteous  confession  and  compensation  for  wrongs  or 
injuries  committed. 

He  was  brought  up  a  goldsmith  in  the  city  of  London; 
but  the  civil  war  breaking  out  between  Charles  the  First 
and  the  Parliament,  his  business  failed  to  afford  him  a 
maintenance,  and  he  applied  to  the  leaders  of  the  popular 
party  for  some  office.  He  was  accordingly  employed  as  an 
overseer  of  workmen  engaged  in  building  the  fortifications 
about  London.  His  allowance  was  three  shillings  a  day, 
with  which,  for  a  time,  he  was  well  contented.  He  fre- 
quently observed  that  some  of  the  other  overseers  would  go 
with  those  they  employed,  and  treat  them  to  strong  drink. 
Being  told  by  one  of  the  workmen,  that  the  money  so  spent 
did  not  come  out  of  the  salaries  of  those  officers,  he  inquired 
how  that  could  be.  "  Do  you  not  know,"  said  his  inform- 
ant, "  they  can  sometimes  set  down  a  man  more  than  they 
employ ;  or  if  that  cannot  so  well  be,  set  down  for  some, 
two  pence  a-day  more  than  they  give."  This  was  a  new 
idea  to  Humphrey,  who  being  off  his  guard,  Satan  worked 
therein  wit]^  much  subtilty  to  betray  him.    His  honesty  of 


1655.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


85 


purpose  at  last  gave  way,  and  he  began  to  covet  more  than 
his  wages ;  and  his  heart  becoming  corrupt  in  its  desires, 
he  soon  proved  unfaithful  to  his  trust,  and  acting  on  the 
hint  he  had  received,  he  robbed  the  commonwealth  of  its 
dues.  During  the  time  he  remained  in  this  employment, 
the  amount  he  took,  more  than  his  wages,  was  about  six 
pounds. 

Of  course  he  had  no  peace  of  mind,  and  was  often 
troubled  at  the  thought  of  the  wrong  he  was  doing.  But 
he  iiad  departed  from  his  God,  through  the  inward  opera- 
tions of  whose  Holy  Spirit  he  might  have  found  preserva- 
tion from  all  evil ;  and  he  now  had  no  will  nor  strength  to 
resist  the  temptation.  Encouraging  himself  in  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  his  heart,  his  spiritual  eye  became,  for  a  time,  so 
far  blinded,  that  he  did  not  see  the  evil  to  be  so  great  as  it 
first  appeared.  His  heart  was  hardened  through  his  con- 
tinued violation  of  right,  until  at  length  he  went  on  with- 
out much  conviction  or  remorse. 

When  the  fortifications  around  London  were  completed, 
Humphrey  obtained  a  situation  in  the  custom-house. 
Having  yet  some  fear  of  his  Heavenly  Father  remaining 
in  him,  he  discharged  his  duty,  for  a  season,  with  true  fidel- 
ity. So  long  as  he  retained  that  fear,  he  was  preserved  from 
joining  with  those  about  him  in  robbing  the  public  treas- 
ury. At  this  time  he  often  felt  bitterness  of  soul  for  what 
he  had  formerly  done ;  and  this  assisted  him,  as  he  firmly 
resisted  all  bribes,  withholding  his  lips  -from  the  profiered 
wine — his  hand  from  the  tempting  silver. 

His  companions,  who  had  departed  from  honesty  and 
simplicity,  into  that  serpentine  wisdom  which  uses  its  plau- 
sible pretences  to  lead  others  astray,  advanced  many  spe- 
cious arguments  to  persuade  him  to  act  as  they  did.  Lis- 
tening from  time  to  time  to  their  beguiling  words,  he  was 
at  length  staggered ;  for  he  had  not  as  yet  learned,  that 
man's  only%afety  from  sin  depends  on  his  turning  away 
8 


86 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1655. 


from  the  arguments,  enticements  and  examples  of  unregen- 
erate  men,  watching  unto  prayer,  and  seeking  unto  God  for 
wisdom  to  know,  and  strength  to  execute  His  will.  He 
saw  that  others  were  violating  their  oaths,  regardless  of 
their  duty ;  and  this  strengthened  the  natural  covetousness 
of  his  heart.  Nothing  that  he  heard  or  saw,  had  so  great 
an  influence  on  him,  as  the  unfaithfulness  of  the  members 
of  the  "Long  Parliament,"  which  was  then  sitting;  and  he 
had  no  hesitation  in  telling  them  afterwards,  that  it  was 
through  their  evil  example,  he  had  been  led  to  violate  liis 
trust. 

He  soon  fell  from  his  integrity,  and  again  sought  by  un- 
fair means  to  increase  his  wages.  Yet  the  Lord,  in  love  to 
his  soul,  followed  him  with  reproofs  and  corrections ;  and 
in  order  to  break  his.  hard  heart,  judgment  after  judgment 
was  administered  to  him.  He  continued,  however,  going 
on  in  the  same  course  of  iniquity,  until  through  the  inward 
rebukes  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  was  filled  with  fear  and  ter- 
ror. Being  now  devoid  of  comfort,  he  became  very  irrita- 
ble. A  small  thing  would  ruffle  his  temper,  and  lead  him 
to  quarrel  with  his  dearest  friends.  He  who  had  been  very 
loving  and  gentle  towards  his  wife,  was  now  so  peevish,  so 
fretful,  and  so  froward,  that  he  would  often  break  out  into 
fits  of  anger  with  her,  even  when  she  spoke  mildly  and 
pleasantly  to  him. 

For  a  long  time  he  felt  the  weight  of  condemnation  upon 
him,  and  had  many  thoughts  as  to  what  he  must  do  to  find 
relief.  Sometimes  he  thought  of  making  restitution,  con- 
fessing what  he  had  done,  and  surrendering  himself  to  the 
commissioners,  to  deal  with  him  as  they  should  think  best. 
His  heart,  however,  was  not  yet  rightly  subdued ;  and 
though  for  the  last  year  he  held  the  oflice  he  scrupulously 
refused  to  take  more  than  his  due,  he  still  retained  the  gain 
of  his  former  wickedness. 

We  have  seen  that  Francis  Howgill  and  ^ward  Bur- 


1655.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


87 


rough,  in  the  year  1654,  came  from  the  north  of  England 
to  London,  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit  and  of  power,  and  that  many  being  there  gath- 
ered into  communion  with  them,  meetings  were  established 
in  and  about  this  great  metropolis,  that  year  and  the  next. 
One  of  these  meetings  Humphrey  Bache  attended ;  but  what 
he  then  heard  had  very  little  effect  upon  him.  Some  time 
after,  one  of  his  acquaintance  inquiring  of  him  whether  he 
had  been  to  hear  the  Quakers,  he  replied,  he  had  heard 
them  once.  "Yes,"  rejoined  his  friend,  "but  hear  them 
five  or  six  times,  and  then  judge  whether  it  be  not  truth 
that  they  declare."  Humphrey  accordingly  attended  two 
or  three  meetings  more,  still  without  appearing  to  receive 
any  particular  spiritual  benefit.  After  a  time,  again  feeling 
some  inclination  to  try  them,  he  went  to  the  "  Bull  and 
Mouth  "  meeting,  where  were  those  three  eminent  ministers 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  George  Fox,  Francis  Howgill,  and 
Edward  Burrough.  One  of  them,  while  speaking  of  the 
cross  of  Christ,  which  all  true  disciples  must  take  up  daily, 
said  to  this  effect : — "  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against 
God.  As  any  one  comes  to  stand  in  the  cross,  which  is  the 
power  of  God,  the  enmity  is  broken  down,  and  reconcilia- 
tion is  witnessed.  The  enmity  is  slain  by  the  power  of 
God — by  that  which  crosseth  the  carnal  mind — which  is, 
the  Light." 

Under  this  testimony,  the  heart  of  Humphrey  Bache  was 
reached.  The  witness  for  God  within  him  responded  to 
the  truth  of  what  was  uttered,  and  to  its  applicability  to 
his  own  condition.  He  knew  that  "the  Light  which 
shineth  in  a  dark  place"  had  discovered  his  sin  to  him, 
and  reproved  him  for  that  which  his  carnal  mind  urged 
him  to  do.  He  saw  that  as  the  cross  was  taken  up,  death 
must  needs  come  on  the  carnal  mind  ;  sin  must  cease ;  and 
thus  the  partition  wall  between  him  and  his  God  would  be 
broken  down. 


88  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1655. 

Now,  as  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  were  opened  before 
him,  his  inward  eye  was  anointed  to  discover  the  mysteries 
of  iniquity  also.  His  heart  was  in  measure  turned  to  the 
Lord,  and  desires  were  raised  in  him  for  perfect  redemption 
from  sin.  In  order  to  witness  this,  he  was  led  into  inward 
waiting  'on  the  Lord,  that  he  might  receive  the  further 
manifestations  of  that  divine  Light,  which  he  now  knew 
had  often  convinced  him  of  sin.  He  who  had  died  to  sdive 
him,  noAV,  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  instructed  his  soul,  opening 
his  inward  condition,  and  showing  him  what  yet  stood  be- 
tween him  and  reconciliation  with  God. 

The  first  thing  which  was  then  made  manifest  to  him 
was  his  former  unfaithfulness  to  his  trust.  In  the  remem- 
brance thereof,  trouble  and  anguish  were  again  awakened 
within  him,  and  he  saw  that  he  was  not  clear  in  the  sight 
of  immaculate  Justice.  He  had  given  up  his  course  of  dis- 
honesty ;  but  he  had  not  made  restitution  for  that  already 
committed.  As  he  waited  at  "Wisdom's  gate"  for  direc- 
tion, it  was  made  plain  to  his  understanding  that  his  cov- 
etousness — that  which  desired  to  retain  the  gain  of  ini- 
quity—  must  be  given  up  to  die  on  the  cross.  He  felt  that 
all  he  had  unjustly  obtained,  he  must  freely  pay  to  the 
commissioners  of  excise,  for  the  service  of  the  common- 
wealth. This  was  a  close  trial  to  him,  as  it  amounted  to 
about  one-half  of  all  his  outward  substance.  What  added 
to  the  trial  was,  that  he  was  now  not  easy  to  remain  any 
longer  in  the  excise,  and  had  a  wife  and  five  children  to 
provide  for. 

While  he  was  in  this  tried  condition  of  mind,  George 
Fox  was  inwardly  drawn  to  pay  him  a  visit;  and  being 
partly  informed  by  Humphrey  of  the  struggles  within  him, 
he  said  to  him,  "  He  that  confesseth,  and  forsaketh  his  sin, 
shall  find  mercy."  Humphrey  was  made  sensible  that 
George's  heart  was  raised  up  in  prayer  to  the  Lord  on  his 
behalf,  and  that  the  petition  found  acceptance.   He  has  left 


1655.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  89 


the  following  record  of  what  followed  :  "  The  Lord  reached 
down  His  right  arm  of  power,  touched  my  heart  with  His 
grace,  and  made  me  willing  to  submit  to  His  will,  and  give 
up  the  sum  of  money  I  had  received  unjustly.  Waiting  in 
the  Light,  this  was  made  plain  to  me,  to  be  near  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds.  But  it  lay  on  my  heart,  to  restore 
more,  rather  than  less.  So  I  was  made  free  by  the  power 
of  the  Lord,  and  did  give  back  at  the  excise  office,  London, 
one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  Then  I  felt  the  truth  of 
the  words  George  Fox  spake  to  me :  '  He  that  confesseth, 
and  forsaketh  his  sin,  shall  find  mercy;' — for  much  ease, 
peace,  and  refreshment,  I  received  into  my  soul." 

He  now  resigned  his  station  in  the  ■  customs,  and  recom- 
menced business  at  his  original  trade,  at  the  sign  of  the 
Snail  in  Tower  street. 

A  great  care  and  dread  came  upon  him,  lest  he  should 
offend  his  Heavenly  Father  in  word  or  deed.  He  now 
read  some  writings  of  the  people  called  Quakers,  and  could 
unite  with  all  he  found.  One  of  his  acquaintance,  who 
had  frequented  the  meetings  of  this  new  Society,  asked 
Humphrey  what  he  thought  of  them ;  saying  that  for  his 
part,  he  did  believe  that  what  they  declared,  would  stand, 
when  all  else  fell.  Then  specifying  one  of  their  more  ob- 
vious characteristics,  he  further  queried  of  Humphrey, 
whether  he  did  not  believe  that  "thee"  and  "thou"  to  one 
particular  person,  instead  of  the  plural  "  you,"  was  truth  ? 
Humphrey  acknowledged  that  he  did.  Then  he  rejoined, 
"If  thou  dost  not  come  into  obedience  to  what  thou  art 
convinced  is  truth,  thou  must  come  under  condemnation." 
This  also  Humphrey  acknowledged  was  true ;  and  contin- 
uing to  follow,  in  obedience,  the  manifestations  of  the  Light 
of  Truth  in  his  mind,  he  was  brought  to  know  it  to  be  a 
"bridle  to  the  tongue,"  and  was  strengthened  to  take  up 
the  cross  in  this  respect,  and  soon  afterwards  in  respect  to 
the  corrupt  practice  of  putting  off  the  hat  in  pretended 
8* 


90 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OP 


[1655. 


honor  of  persons.  This  was  the  day  of  small  things  with 
him,  which,  as  it  was  faithfully  attended  to,  was  to  precede 
the  days  of  greater  experience  in  divine  wisdom  and  useful- 
ness ;  but  without  which,  he  would  not  have  been  led  on, 
as  he  afterwards  was,  from  one  step  of  Christian  progress  to 
another,  so  as  to  know  his  feet  at  length  established  on 
"the  Rock  of  Ages." 

He  was  still  at  times  under  great  temptations ;  yet  as  he 
abode  in  watchfulness  towards  the  Light,  he  was  preserved 
from  falling.  But  at  times  forsaking  that,  and  letting  "  the 
old  man  with  his  deeds  which  are  corrupt"  gain  the  as- 
cendancy, he  made  work  for  bitter  repentance.  The  swift 
witness  for  God  then  followed  him  with  His  judgments,  until 
he  was  made  to  abhor  himself  in  the  dust,  and  unite  with 
the  Lord's  Spirit  in  condemnation  of  that  w^hich  had  lifted 
itself  up  against  the  reign  of  Christ  in  his  soul.  He 
patiently  bore  these  judgments,  and  after  a  time  received 
power  to  stand,  in  the  hour  of  temptation,  against  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  adversary.  Then  he  saw,  that  several  things 
in  his  business  as  a  goldsmith,  were  not  acceptable  to  his 
divine  Master — that  in  providing  rings  and  trinkets  to  sell 
to  proud  and  vain  people,  he  was  not  serving  Christ,  but 
the  great  enemy  of  all  righteousness ;  and  he  was  at  length, 
by  the  power  of  the  same  Grace  that  discovered  the  prac- 
tice of  selling  them  to  be  evil,  redeemed  from  that  evil 
service. 

Humphrey  now  joined  himself  in  membership  with  the 
new  society,  and  in  1656  a  regular  meeting  was  opened  at 
his  house,  which  continued  to  be  held  there  for  several 
years.  He  was  a  good  example  to  his  brethren,  faithfully 
suffering  several  imprisonments  for  his  Christian  principles ; 
and  died  soon  after  being  released  from  prison,  in  1662, 
from  the  effects  of  the  hardships  he  had  endured  in  his 
confinement  for  conscience'  sake. 


1656.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


91 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ACCOUNT  OF  JAMES  l^RXEL, —  HE  DIES  IN  PRISON, — 
GEORGE  FOX  IMPRISONED  IN  LAUNCESTON  JAIL. 

IN  the  forepart  of  the  year  1656  died  James  Parnel, 
whose  short  history  is  of  a  very  interesting  character. 
He  was  born  about  the  year  1638,  at  Retford  in  Notting- 
hamshire, and  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  in  the  common  way  of  worship  which  was  then 
prevalent.  This  did  not  however  change  his  heart,  or 
bring  him  from  the  corrupt  state  in  which  mankind  are 
by  nature,  into  a  state  of  grace ;  though  he  was  often  sen- 
sible of  the  secret  reprovings  of  the  Lord's  Holy  Spirit,  in 
his  solitary  moments,  and  so  clearly  were  life  and  death 
set  before  him  at  times,  with  a  sense  of  the  evil  of  his  ways, 
that  he  would  come  to  a  resolution  to  forsake  the  sins  for 
which  he  felt  condemned ;  but  this  promise  being  made 
merely  in  the  strength  of  his  own  will,  it  did  not  stand 
against  temptation,  and  he  made  for  himself  fresh  work  for 
repentance.  The  judgments  of  the  Almighty,  nevertheless, 
followed  him,  and  wrought  true  repentance  in  his  soul ;  and 
as  a  brand  he  was  plucked  from  the  fire,  to  be  made  a  ves- 
sel of  honor  in  the  Lord's  house.  When  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age,  he  was  led  to  see  the  emptiness  and  idolatrous 
nature  of  the  worship  of  the  world ;  and  George  Fox  being 
confined  in  Carlisle  Dungeon,  he  came  to  visit  him,  and 
was  efiectually  convinced  of  the  truth,  and  submitted  to 
the  operation  thereof  in  his  heart.  The  Lord,  more  and 
more  perfecting  his  divine  work  in  an  obedient  heart, 
quickly  made  him  a  powerful  minister  of  the  word  of  life. 
In  his  eighteenth  year  he  was  moved  of  his  divine  Master 
to  go  to  Cambridge,  where  he  testified  boldly  against  the 


92 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


corrupt  practices  of  the  magistrates  and  priests.  For  this 
he  was  shut  up  in  prison,  and  after  being  there  detained  a 
considerable  time,  as  his  accusers  could  not  substantiate 
any  charge  against  him,  he  was  violently  thrust  out  of  the 
town  under  the  name  of  a  rogue.  JEe  some  time  afterwards 
returned,  and  continued  for  about  six  months  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  city;  after  which  he 
passed  into  Essex,  and  was  made  an  instrument  to  the  con- 
version of  many,  and  the  great  discomfiture  of  the  priests. 
These,  seeing  that  their  craft  was  in  imminent  danger  of 
being  brought  to  naught,  appointed  a  great  meeting  at 
Great  Coggeshall  in  Essex,  at  which  the  people  were  "  to 
fast  and  pray  against  the  errors  of  the  Quakers."  James 
hearing  of  this,  was  pressed  in  spirit  to  attend  the  meeting, 
in  order  to  defend  the  truth  against  the  attacks  of  its  ad- 
versaries. He  stood  still  till  the  priest  had  finished  his 
harangue,  and  then  vindicated  the  cause  of  truth  and  his 
own  right  to  speak  there,  in  a  masterly  manner.  They 
then  bid  him  pull  off  his  hat,  and  he  declining  to  do  so, 
told  them  that  he  would  rather  leave  the  house ;  which  he 
did,  followed  by  many  people.  But  as  he  was  passing 
along  the  road  to  a  friend's  house,  he  was  arrested,  and 
after  a  frivolous  examination  before  four  justices  and  six 
or  seven  priests,  was  committed  to  the  common  jail  at  Col- 
chester. From  this  he  was  taken  to  the  assizes  at  Chelms- 
ford, being  chained  to  five  felons,  and  thus  dragged  eighteen 
miles  through  the  country,  having  a  man  arrested  for  mur- 
der joined  to  him  on  the  chain. 

Being  brought  before  the  court,  his  hat  was  taken  off  his 
head,  and  thrown  on  the  floor.  The  accusations  against 
him  were,  that  in  a  riotous  manner  he  entered  into  the 
"  parish  church  "  at  Great  Coggeshall ;  that  he  there  stood 
up  and  told  the  minister,  he  blasphemed,  and  spoke  falsely, 
and  that  he  used  other  reproachful  words  against  him :  he 
was  also  charged  with  being  an  idle  disorderly  person,  who 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


93 


could  not  give  a  good  account  of  his  residence,  or  of  his 
life  and  conversation,  and  with  a  contempt  of  the  magis- 
tracy and  ministry.  He  replied,  that  he  by  no  means  en- 
tered into  the  steeple-house  in  a  riotous  manner,  but  came 
thither  quietly  and  alone ;  for  that  several  boys  wishing  to 
go  in  after  him,  he  bade  them  go  in  before,  rather  than 
occasion  any  disturbance  by  entering  in  a  disorderly  man- 
ner :  that  he  there  stood  very  orderly,  and  quietly  listened 
to  their  revilings  of  himself  and  his  friends,  till  their  priest 
had  finished  and  was  leaving  his  seat.  He  denied  not  that 
he  had  told  Priest  Willis  that  he  blasphemed  by  saying 
"the  church  in  God"  (an  expression  James  had  used  in 
the  meeting-house,)  was  nonsense ;  and  he  quoted  2d  Thes- 
sal.  i.  1,  where  the  apostle  addresses  "  the  church  of  the 
Thessalonians,  in  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  He  asked  them  also  to  consider  whether  it  was 
any  more  improper  for  a  man  to  keep  on  his  hat,  than  his 
shoe,  or  his  glove,  or  whether  this  were  not  one  of  the  vain 
customs  of  Pharisaical  men,  who  seek  honor  one  of  another, 
and  not  the  honor  which  cometh  from  God  only.  With 
respect  to  the  charge  of  being  an  idle  disorderly  person,  he 
told  them  that  his  life  and  conversation  might  speak  for 
itself,  and  challenged  any  to  accuse  him  of  disorder ;  adding 
that  though  he  was  not  possessed  of  earthly  property,  yet 
he  had  a  settlement  in  the  Lord,  where  he  had  found  a  hab- 
itation, and  was  a  laborer  in  the  Gospel  of  God,  in  which 
none  could  tax  him  with  idleness ;  and  that  it  was  indeed 
his  great  labor  and  diligence  in  laying  open  the  delusions 
of  deceivers  and  deceived  men,  that  had  raised  up  this  per- 
secution against  him  by  those  who  loved  to  cherish  those 
false  prophets  who  would  cry  "peace,  peace"  when  the 
word  of  the  Lord  would  declare  a  "  woe ! "  Thus  boldly 
did  this  enlightened  youth  defend  his  cause.  But  the 
judge  overawed  the  jury,  and  endeavored  to  make  them 
find  him  guilty ;  and  when  the  rest  of  the  jury  would  have 


94 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


acquitted  him,  the  judge  and  the  clerk  endeavored  to  draw 
forth  expressions  from  their  foreman,  a  notorious  drunkard, 
not  acquiesced  in  by  his  colleagues,  to  justify  them  in  their 
determination,  and  finally  sentenced  him  to  pay  a  fine  of 
about  forty  pounds,  for  contempt  of  the  magistracy  and  min- 
istry. This  of  course  James  could  not  pay  consistently  with 
his  feelings  of  right,  as  he  had  committed  no  crime,  and  his 
payment  of  it  would  have  sanctioned  their  unjust  assump- 
tion. He  was  thereupon  led  back  to  his  prison,  which  was 
an  old  ruinous  castle,  said  to  have  been  built  in  the  times 
of  the  ancient  Romans. 

The  jailer  for  a  considerable  time  allowed  no  one  to  visit 
him,  but  such  as  came  to  abuse  and  beat  him ;  and  his  w^ife 
not  only  sent  her  servant-man  to  beat  him,  but  several  times 
laid  violent  hands  upon  him  herself,  and  swore  that  she 
would  have  his  blood.  She  also  set  other  prisoners  to  take 
away  the  victuals  which  his  friends  provided  for  him ;  and 
even  denied  him  the  comfort  of  a  bed,  which  they  wished  to 
bring  for  his  accommodation ;  so  that  he  was  compelled  to 
lie  on  the  cold  stones ;  which,  when  the  weather  was  damp, 
would  run  down  with  water.  He  was  afterwards  put  into  a 
place  called  "  the  hole  in  the  wall,"  which  appears  to  have 
been  a  vault,  like  a  baker's  oven,  in  the  massive  walls  of 
that  direful  castle,*  and  was  very  high  from  the  ground. 
There  was  a  ladder  placed  under  the  mouth  of  this  hole,  by 
which  he  had  to  descend  to  obtain  his  food.  But  this  ladder 
was  too  short  by  six  feet,  and  he  was  under  the  necessity  of 
raising  himself  into  the  hole  from  the  top  of  the  ladder,  by 
catching  hold  of  a  rope.  His  friends  wished  to  furnish  him 
with  a  cord  and  basket,  by  which  to  draw  up  his  victuals, 
but  this  the  malice  of  his  persecutors  w^ould  not  permit.  By 

*  Thomas  Scattergood  visited  this  castle  in  1796,  saw  the  hole  in 
which  James  was  confined,  and  describes  the  walls  as  being  about 
twelve  feet  thick. 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


95 


jontinual  subjection  to  the  damp  cold  air  of  this  dungeon, 
lis  limbs  became  benumbed ;  so  that  on  one  occasion,  in 
ilimbing  up  with  his  victuals  in  one  hand,  and  catching  at 
;he  rope  with  the  other  from  the  top  of  the  ladder,  he  missed 
lis  hold,  and  fell  down  upon  the  stones,  and  was  so  exceed- 
ingly wounded  and  bruised  in  his  head  and  body,  that  he 
was  taken  up  for  dead.  They  then  put  him  into  a  similar 
hole  beneath  the  other,  called  "the  oven,"  so  small  that 
some  bakers'  ovens  are  more  capacious.  Here,  when  the 
door  was  shut,  there  was  no  orifice  for  ventilation  or  light, 
and  after  he  was  a  little  recovered  from  his  accident,  they 
would  not  suffer  him  to  take  the  air,  even  so  much  as  by 
going  to  the  door  of  the  castle,  though  he  was  much 
'exhausted  by  the  close  confinement.  Some  of  his  friends 
seeing  the  risk  to  which  his  life  was  exposed,  ofiered  to  lie 
I  in  prison  for  him  if  he  could  be  permitted  but  for  a  short 
time  to  be  nursed  at  one  of  their  houses ;  but  this  also  was 
refused  by  his  enemies,  who  thirsted  for  his  blood.  And 
when,  once  that  the  door  was  left  open,  he  ventured  to 
breathe  the  air  for  a  short  time  by  walking  in  a  narrow 
yard  between  two  high  walls,  the  jailer  came  in  a  great  rage, 
locked  up  the  hole  where  he  usually  lay,  and  shut  him  out 
in  the  yard  all  night,  though  it  was  in  the  coldest  time  of 
the  winter.  These  continued  severities  at  length  completely 
undermined  his  constitution,  and  brought  on  a  mortal  sick- 
ness. As  he  felt  death  approaching,  he  said  to  those  around 
him,  "  Here  I  die  innocently  : "  a  little  afterwards,  "  Now  I 
must  go;"  and  turning  to  Thomas  Shortland,  he  added, 
"  This  death  I  must  die :  Thomas,  I  have  seen  great  things  ; 
do  not  hold  me,  but  let  me  go."  Then  he  said  again,  "  AVill 
you  hold  me?"  meaning  that  he  wished  his  friends  freely  to 
give  him  up,  and  not  even  to  desire  to  retain  him :  to  which 
one  of  them  affectionately  replied,  "  No,  dear  heart !  w^e  will 
not  hold  thee."  He  had  often  said,  that  one  hour's  sleep 
would  cure  him  of  all ;  and  the  last  words  he  was  heard  to 


96 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


utter,  were,  "  Now  I  go  when  he  stretched  himself  out,  and 
after  sleeping  about  an  hour,  he  breathed  out  his  purified 
spirit  to  Him  who  had  watched  and  inwardly  supported 
him,  during  all  his  afflictions  for  His  gospel's  sake.  He 
died  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age. 

About  this  time,  George  Fox  was  taken  up,  with  Edward 
Pyot,  and  imprisoned  in  Launceston  jail,  for  many  months. 
He  had  written,  at  Market-Jew,  an  address  to  the  seven 
parishes  at  the  Land's  End  in  Cornwall,  showing  that  Christ 
is  indeed  come  to  teach  his  people  himself,  and  exhorting 
the  people  to  take  heed  to  the  light  of  His  Holy  Spirit  in 
their  hearts,  and  prize  the  day  of  their  visitation.  One  of 
these  papers  came  into  the  hands  of  a  servant  of  Major 
Ceely,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  who  had  George  and  his  friends 
arrested,  and  carried  by  a  party  of  horsemen  with  swords 
and  pistols,  to  Eedruth.  His  own  account,  somewhat  con- 
densed, of  this  remarkable  transaction,  will  give  a  clear  view 
of  the  bold  and  fearless  character  of  this  remarkable  man, 
^nd  of  the  nature  of  that  persecuting  spirit  by  which  he  was 
assailed. 

At  Redruth,  he  says,  "several  of  the  town's  people 
gathered  about  us ;  and  whilst  I  held  the  soldiers  in  dis- 
course, Edward  Pyot  spoke  to  the  people ;  afterwards  Edward 
Pyot  held  the  soldiers  in  discourse,  whilst  I  spoke  to  the 
people ;  and  in  the  mean  time  the  other  Friend  got  out  and 
went  to  the  steeple-house,  to  speak  to  the  priest  and  people. 
The  soldiers  missing  him  were  in  a  great  rage,  ready  to  kill 
us ;  but  I  declared  the  day  of  the  Lord,  and  the  woi'd  of 
eternal  life  to  the  people.  In  the  afternoon,  when  we  got  to 
the  town's  end,  I  was  moved  of  the  Lord  to  go  back,  to  speak 
to  the  old  man  of  the  house.  The  soldiers  drew  out  their 
pistols,  and  swore  I  should  not  go  back.  I  heeded  them 
not;  but  rode  back,  and  they  rode  after  me.  I  cleared 
myself  to  the  old  man  and  the  people,  and  then  returned 
with  them,  and  reproved  them  for  being  so  rude.    At  night 


1656.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  97 


we  were  brouglit  to  Falmouth.  There  came  into  our  inn 
the  chief  constable  and  many  sober  people,  and  a  great  deal 
of  discourse  we  had  with  them  concerning  the  things  of  God. 
Some  of  them  were  convinced,  and  stood  faithful  ever  after. 

"  Xext  morning,  Captain  Keat  brought  a  kinsman  of  his, 
a  rude,  wicked  man,  and  put  him  into  the  room,  himself 
standing  without.  This  man  walking  huffing  up  and  down, 
I  bid  him  fear  the  Lord.  Whereupon  he  ran  upon  me, 
struck  me  with  both  his  hands,  and  clapping  his  leg  behind 
me,  would  have  thrown  me  down ;  but  he  could  not,  for  I 
stood  stiff  and  still,  and  let  him  strike.  As  I  looked  towards 
the  door,  I  saw  Captain  Keat,  and  said,  '  Keat,  dost  thou 
allow  this  ? '  He  said,  he  did.  '  Is  this  manly  or  civil,'  said 
I,  '  to  have  us  under  a  guard,  and  put  a  man  to  abuse  and 
beat  us  ? '  I  desired  one  of  our  Friends  to  send  for  the  con- 
stables, and  then  I  told  the  captain  he  had  broken  his  order  ; 
for  we  were  to  be  '  safely  conducted ; '  but  he  had  brought  a 
man  to  beat  and  abuse  us ;  so  I  wished  the  constable  to  keep 
the  warrant.  Accordingly  he  did,  and  told  the  soldiers  they 
might  go  their  way,  for  he  would  take  charge  of  the  prisoners, 
and  they  should  not  have  the  warrant  again.  They  walked 
up  and  down  the  house,  pitifully  blank  and  down. 

"  About  the  eleventh  hour,  upon  the  soldiers'  entreaty, 
and  promise  to  be  more  civil,  the  constable  gave  them  the 
order  again,  and  we  went  with  them.  We  met  Major 
General  Desborough  on  the  way ;  the  captain  of  his  troop, 
that  rode  before  him,  knew  me,  and  said,  '  Oh,  Mr,  Fox, 
what  do  you  here  ? '  I  told  him  I  was  taken  up  as  I  was 
travelling.  '  Then,'  said  he,  '  I  will  speak  to  my  lord,  and 
he  will  set  you  at  liberty.'  So  he  rode  up  to  the  coach, 
and  spoke  to  the  major  general.  We  also  gave  him.  an 
account  how  we  were  taken.  He  began  to  speak  against  the 
Light  of  Christ,  for  which  I  reproved  him.  Then  he  told 
the  soldiers  they  might  carry  us  to  Launceston ;  for  he  could 
not  stay  to  talk  with  us,  lest  his  horses  should  take  cold. 
9 


98 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


"  So  to  Bodmin  we  were  conveyed  that  night,  and  Cap- 
tain Keat  put  me  into  a  room,  and  went  his  way.  When  I 
was  come  in,  there  stood  a  man  with  a  naked  rapier  (or 
sword)  in  his  hand.  I  called  for  Captain  Keat,  and  said, 
*  What  now,  Keat,  what  trick  hast  thou  played  now,  to  put 
me  into  a  room  where  there  is  a  man  with  his  naked  rapier  ? 
What  is  thy  end  in  all  this ? '  'Oh,'  said  he,  '  pray  hold 
your  tongue ;  for  if  you  speak  to  this  man,  we  cannot  all 
rule  him,  he  is  so  devilish.'  '  Then,'  said  I,  '  dost  thou  put 
me  into  a  room  where  there  is  such  a  man  with  a  naked 
rapier,  that  thou  sayst,  you  cannot  rule  him?  What  an 
unworthy,  base  trick  is  this ! '  Thus  his  plot  was  discovered. 

Next  day  we  were  brought  to  Launceston,  where  Cap- 
tain Keat  delivered  us  to  the  jailer.  He  required  us  to 
pay  seven  shillings  a  week  for  our  horse  meat,  and  seven 
shillings  for  our  diet,  a-piece.  Then  got  up  a  great  rage 
among  the  professors  and  priests  ;  and  they  said,  '  We  shall 
see  when  the  assize  comes,  whether  they  will  dare  to  Thou 
and  Thee  the  judge,  and  keep  on  their  hats  before  him.' 
They  expected  we  should  be  hanged  at  the  assize.  But  all 
this  was  little  to  us ;  for  we  saw  how  God  would  stain  the 
world's  honor,  and  glory,  and  were  commanded  not  to  seek 
that  honor,  nor  give  it. 

"  It  was  nine  weeks  from  the  time  of  our  commitment,  to 
the  assizes,  to  which  abundance  of  people  came,  from  far 
and  near,  to  hear  the  trial  of  the  Quakers.  Captain  Brad- 
den's  soldiers  and  the  sheriff's  men  guarded  us  up  to  the 
court  through  the  multitude  of  people  that  filled  the  streets. 
The  doors  and  windows  were  filled  with  people  looking  out 
upon  us.  When  we  were  brought  into  the  court,  we  stood 
a  while  with  our  hats  on,  and  all  was  quiet.  And  I  was 
moved  to  say,  '  Peace  be  amongst  you ! '  J udge  Glynne, 
Chief  J ustice  of  England,  said  to  us,  '  Why  do  you  not  put 
off  your  hats  ? '  We  said  nothing.  *  Put  off  your  hats,' 
said  the  judge  again.    Still  we  said  nothing.    Then  said 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


99 


the  judge,  *  The  court  commands  you  to  put  off  your  hats/ 
Then  I  said,  '  When  did  ever  any  magistrate,  king,  or 
judge,  from  Moses  to  Daniel,  command  any  to  put  off  their 
hats  when  they  came  before  them?  And  if  the  law  of 
England  doth  command  any  such  thing,  show  me  that  law.' 
Then  the  judge  grew  very  angry,  and  said,  '  I  do  not  carry 
my  law-books  on  my  back.'  '  But,'  said  I,  '  tell  me  where 
it  is  printed  in  any  statute  book,  that  I  may  read  it.'  Then 
said  the  judge,  '  Take  him  away — prevaricator!  I'll  ferk 
him  ! '  So  they  took  us  away,  and  put  us  among  the  thieves. 
Presently  after  he  calls  to  the  jailer,  *  Bring  them  up  again.' 

*  Come,'  said  he,  '  where  had  they  hats  from  Moses  to  Dan- 
iel ?    Come,  answer  me ;  I  have  you  fast  now.'    I  replied, 

*  Thou  may  St  read  in  the  third  of  Daniel,  that  the  three 
children  were  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace  by  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's command,  with  their  coats,  their  hosen,  and  their  hats 
on.'  This  plain  instance  stopped  him :  so  that  not  having 
anything  else  to  say  to  the  point,  he  cried  again,  '  Take 
them  away,  jailer.'  Accordingly  we  were  thrust  in  among 
the  thieves,  where  we  were  kept  a  great  while ;  and  they 
came  into  the  jail  to  us,  and  violently  took  our  books 
from  us. 

"  In  the  afternoon,  we  were  had  up  again  into  the  court, 
and  I  seeing  the  jurymen  and  others  swearing,  it  grieved 
my  life,  that  such  as  professed  Christianity,  should  so  openly 
disobey  the  command  of  Christ  and  the  apostle ;  and  I  was 
moved  of  the  Lord  to  give  forth  to  the  jurors  a  paper 
against  swearing,  which  I  had  about  me.  This  paper  pass- 
ing among  them,  they  presented  it  to  the  judge,  who  asked 
me,  'if  that  seditious  paper  was  mine.'  I  told  him,  'If 
they  would  read  it  up  in  open  court,  that  I  might  hear  it, 
if  it  was  mine,  I  would  own  it.'  He  would  have  had  me 
take  it,  and  look  upon  it  in  my  own  hand :  but  I  again  de- 
sired that  it  might  be  read,  that  all  might  hear  it,  and 
judge  whether  there  was  any  sedition  in  it.    At  last  the 


100 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


clerk  read  it  with  an  audible  voice ;  and  then  I  told  them 
it  was  my  paper :  I  would  own  it,  and  so  might  they  too, 
except  they  would  deny  the  Scripture.  They  let  fall  that 
subject,  and  the  judge  fell  upon  us  about  our  hats 
again,  bidding  the  jailer  take  them  off ;  which  he  did,  and 
gave  them  to  us ;  and  we  put  them  on  again,  and  asked  the 
judge  and  justices,  what  we  had  lain  in  prison  for  these 
nine  weeks,  seeing  they  now  objected  nothing  to  us  but 
about  our  hats  :  an  honor  which  men  seek  one  of  another,  but 
which  God  would  lay  in  the  dust ;  and  we  requested  them 
to  do  us  justice  for  our  long  imprisonment.  But  they 
brought  in  a  strange  indictment,  which  they  had  framed, 
full  of  lies,  as,  that  we  came  '  by  force  and  arms,  and  in  a 
hostile  manner,  into  the  court ! '  I  told  them  it  was  false : 
being  taken  up  in  our  journey  without  cause  by  Major 
Ceely.  Then  Peter  Ceely  said,  'May  it  please  you,  my 
lord,  this  man  (pointing  to  me,)  went  aside  Avith  me,  and 
told  me  how  serviceable.  I  might  be  for  his  design ;  that  he 
could  raise  forty  thousand  men  at  an  hour's  warning,  and 
involve  the  nation  in  blood,  and  so  bring  in  King  Charles 
[who  was  then  in  exile].  I  have  a  witness  to  swear  it and 
called  his  witness.  But  I  desired  that  my  mittimus,  in 
which  my  crime  was  signified,  might  be  read  in  the  face  of 
the  court.  The  judge  said,  it  should  not  be  read.  I  said, 
'it  ought  to  be,  seeing  it  concerned  my  liberty  and  life.' 
The  judge  said  again,  '  it  shall  not  be  read.'  But  I  said, 
'it  ought  to  be  read;  for  if  I  have  done  anything  worthy 
of  death  or  of  bonds,  let  all  the  country  know  it.'  Then 
seeing  they  would  not  read  it,  I  said  to  one  of  my  fellow- 
prisoners,  '  Thou  hast  a  copy  of  it,  read  it  up.'  *  It  shall 
not  be  read,'  said  the  judge;  'jailer,  take  him  away;  I  will 
see  whether  he  or  I  shall  be  master.'  So  I  was  taken  away, 
and  a  little  while  after  called  again.  I  still  cried  to  have 
my  mittimus  read,  which  signified  the  cause  of  my  commit- 
ment, and  again  spoke  to  my  fellow-prisoner  to  read  it. 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIEXDS. 


101 


He  did  read  it,  and  the  judge,  justices,  and  -ss'liole  court 
were  silent ;  for  the  people  were  eager  to  hear  it." 

This  paper  was  signed  by  Peter  Ceely,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  charged  G.  Fox  and  his  friends  with  acknowl- 
edging themselves  to  be  Quakers,  spreading  abroad  papers 
tending  to  disturbance  of  the  peace,  with  travelling  with- 
out any  pass,  or  rendering  any  lawful  reason,  and  with 
refusing  to  give  sureties  for  their  good  behavior,  or  to  take 
the  oath  of  abjuration,  &c. 

"When  it  was  read,  I  said  to  the  judge  and  justices, 
'  You  know  that  if  I  had  put  in  sureties,  I  might  have  gone 
whither  I  pleased,  and  carried  on  the  design  (if  I  had  one) 
which  Major  Ceely  hath  charged  me  with.  And  if  I  had 
spoken  those  words  to  him,  judge  ye  whether  bail  could 
have  been  taken  in  that  case.'  Then  turning  to  Ceely,  I 
said,  '  When  or  where  did  I  take  thee  aside  ?  "Was  not  thy 
house  full  of  rude  people,  and  thou  as  rude  as  any  of  them? 
But  if  thou  art  my  accuser,  why  sittest  thou  on  the  bench  ? 
This  is  not  a  place  for  thee  to  sit  in,  for  accusers  do  not  use 
to  sit  with  the  judge:  thou  oughtest  to  come  down  and 
stand  by  me,  and  look  me  in  the  face.  Besides,  I  would 
ask  whether  or  not  Major  Ceely  is  not  guilty  of  this  treason, 
which  he  charges  against  me,  in  concealing  it  so  long? 
For  he  tells  you  here,  that  I  went  aside,  and  told  him  how 
serviceable  he  might  be  for  my  design — that  I  could  raise 
40,000  men,  &c.  He  saith  moreover,  he  would  have  aided 
me  out  of  the  country,  but  I  would  not  go,  and  therefore 
he  committed  me.  Now  do  you  not  see  that  Major  Ceely 
is  guilty  of  this  plot  and  treason,  and  hath  made  himself  a 
party  to  it,  by  desiring  me  to  go  out  of  the  country,  and 
not  charging  me  with  this  pretended  treason  till  now  ?  But 
I  deny  and  abhor  his  words,  and  am  innocent  of  his  devilish 
design.  So  the  judge  saw  clearly  that  instead  of  ensnaring 
me  he  had  ensnared  himself. 

"  Major  Ceely  then  got  up  again,  and  said,  '  if  it  please 
9* 


102 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


you  my  lord,  this  man  struck  me,  and  gave  me  such  a  blow 
as  I  never  had  in  my  life.'  At  this  I  said,  '  Major  Ceely, 
thou  art  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  major  of  a  troop  of 
horse,  and  tellest  the  judge  here,  that  I  (a  prisoner)  struck 
thee.  What,  art  thou  not  ashamed?  Where  did  I  strike 
thee?  and  who  is  thy  witness?'  He  said.  Captain  Bradden 
was  his  witness.  Then  I  said,  'Speak,  Captain  Bradden, 
didst  thou  see  me  give  him  such  a  blow?'  But  Captain 
Bradden  made  no  answer ;  and  the  judge  finding  those  snares 
would  not  hold,  fined  us  twenty  marks  a-piece,  for  not  taking 
off  our  hats,  and  to  be  kept  in  prison  till  we  paid  it. 

"At  night.  Captain  Bradden  came  to  see  us,  and  seven  or 
eight  justices  with  him,  who  were  very  civil,  and  told  us 
they  did  believe  neither  the  judge  nor  any  in  the  court  gave 
credit  to  those  charges  which  Ceely  had  brought  forward ; 
and  Bradden  said,  that  Ceely  had  an  intent  to  take  my  life, 
if  he  could  have  got  another  witness. 

"  NoAv  we  were  kept  in  prison  ;  and  not  being  likely  to  be 
soon  released,  we  broke  off  from  giving  the  jailer  seven 
shillings  a-week  a-piece  for  our  horses,  and  the  same  for 
ourselves,  and  sent  our  horses  into  the  country.  On  which 
he  grew  very  wicked,  and  put  us  down  into  Doomsdale,  a 
nasty,  stinking  place  where  they  put  murderers  after  they 
were  condemned.  The  place  was  so  noisome,  that  it  was 
observed,  few  ever  came  out  again  in  health.  The  filth  col- 
lected had  not  been  carried  out  (as  we  were  told)  for  many 
years ;  so  that  it  was  all  like  mire,  and  in  some  places  to  the 
top  of  the  shoes  in  water  and  filth ;  and  he  would  not  let  us 
cleanse  it,  nor  have  beds  or  straw  to  lie  on.  At  night,  some 
friendly  people  of  the  town  brought  us  a  candle  and  a  little 
straw,  and  we  went  to  burn  a  little  of  our  straw,  to  take 
away  the  stench.  The  thieves  lay  over  our  heads,  and  the 
head-jailer  in  a  room  by  them,  over  our  heads  also.  It 
seems  the  smoke  went  up  into  the  room  where  the  jailer  lay; 
which  put  him  in  such  a  rage,  that  he  took  the  most  filthy 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIEXDS. 


103 


matter  he  could  collect  in  the  thieves'  room,  and  poured  it 
through  a  hole  upon  our  heads ;  whereby  we  were  so  bespat- 
tered, that  we  could  not  touch  ourselves  nor  one  another, 
and  had  like  to  have  been  smothered.  We  had  the  stench 
under  our  feet  before,  but  now  we  had  it  on  our  heads  and 
backs  also ;  and  he  having  quenched  our  straw  with  what 
he  poured  down,  had  made  a  great  smother  in  the  place. 
Moreover,  he  railed  at  us  most  hideously,  calling  us  hatchet- 
faced  dogs,  and  such  strange  names  as  we  never  heard  of. 
In  this  manner  we  had  to  stand  all  night,  for  we  could  not 
sit  down,  the  place  was  so  full  of  filth.  A  great  while  he 
kept  us  after  this  manner,  before  he  would  let  us  cleanse  it, 
or  suffer  us  to  have  any  victuals  but  what  we  had  through 
the  grate ;  and  we  had  much  ado  to  get  water  or  victuals. 

"This  head-jailer,  we  were  informed,  had  been  a  thief, 
and  both  he  and  the  under-jailer  had  been  burnt  in  the 
hand  and  shoulder,  and  their  wives  had  also  both  been  burnt 
in  the  hand. 

"  The  quarter  sessions  drew  nigh,  and  we  drew  up  our 
suffering  case,  and  sent  it  to  the  sessions ;  upon  which  the 
justices  ordered,  that  Doomsdale  door  should  be  opened,  and 
that  we  should  have  liberty  to  cleanse  it,  and  to  buy  our 
meat  in  the  town.  AVe  also  sent  up  a  copy  to  the  Protector 
[Oliver  Cromwell],  whereupon  he  sent  down  an  order  to  the 
governor  of  Pendennis  Castle,  to  examine  the  matter  about 
the  soldiers  abusing  us,  and  striking  me.  One  of  the  Pro- 
tector's chaplains  told  him,  they  could  not  do  George  Fox  a 
greater  service  for  the  spreading  of  his  principles  in  Corn- 
wall, than  to  imprison  him  there.  And  indeed  my  imprison- 
ment was  for  the  Lord's  service  in  those  parts.  The  Lord's 
light  and  truth  broke  forth,  shined  over  all,  and  many  were 
turned  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  Satan's  power  to  God. 
A  great  convincement  began  in  the  country ;  for  now  we  had 
liberty  to  walk  in  the  Castle-green ;  and  divers  people  came 
to  us  on  First-days,  to  whom  we  declared  the  word  of  life." 


104 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


These  innocent  sufferers  were  at  length  released  from 
prison  on  the  13th  of  the  Seventh  month  of  this  year,  having 
been  confined  about  six  months,  during  which  time  their 
health  appears  to  have  been  preserved  in  a  wonderful 
manner. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   CONVINCEMENT,    MINISTRY,   AND   FALL   OF  JAMES 
NAYLER  —  HIS  REPENTANCE  AND  DEATH. 

THE  cruelties  which  Friends  suffered  about  this  time,  for 
their  faithful  adherence  to  what  was  made  known  to 
them  as  their  religious  duty,  were  indeed  excessive,  and  if 
mentioned  in  detail  would  fill  many  volumes.*  They  had 
also  this  year  the  additional  affliction  of  a  falling  away  from 
among  their  own  ranks,  of  some,  Avho,  through  unwatchful- 
ness  and  spiritual  pride,  lost  their  way,  and  were  taken  in 
the  snares  of  the  enemy. 

The  occasion  of  this  new  trial  to  the  church,  was  the 
excessive  adulation  paid  by  some  to  James  Nayler,  which, 
in  an  unguarded  hour,  got  the  better  of  his  judgment,  and 
carried  him  along  with  them  to  great  and  sorrowful  extrava- 
gancies. He  was  born  at  Ardsley,  in  Yorkshire,  about  the 
year  1616,  or  '18,  and  during  the  civil  wars  served  as  quar- 
ter-master in  the  army  of  the  Parliament  under  General 
Lambert.  He  was  by  profession  an  Independent,  and  was 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  principles  of  Friends  by  George 
Fox,  near  Wakefield,  in  the  year  1651 ;  and  being  a  man 
of  comprehensive  intellect,  though  of  limited  education,  he 

See  Bease's  "Sufferings  of  Friends.'"' 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FETENDS. 


105 


brought  into  the  service  of  the  Society  a  great  ability  for 
being  useful ;  especially  as  in  the  first  period  of  his  uniting 
with  Friends,  he  exhibited  an  extraordinary  gift  of  holy 
wisdom  and  humility.  The  year  after  his  convincement,  he 
believed  himself  bound  in  religious  duty,  to  leave  his  habita- 
tion, and  travel  in  the  service  of  the  ministry,  in  the  north- 
western parts  of  England.  He  suffered  much  personal  abuse 
in  Lancashire,  in  company  with  George  Fox,  and  was 
imprisoned  about  twenty  weeks  at  Appleby,  for  having  said 
that  Christ  was  in  him,  (in  accordance  with  the  apostle's 
doctrine :  "  know  ye  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you,  except 
ye  be  reprobates."  2  Corinth,  xiii.  5) — and  that  there  is 
but  one  Word  of  God,  even  He  that  "was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us."  This,  his  enemies,  the  priests,  construed 
into  blasphemy,  being  afraid  that  if  the  sentiments  promul- 
gated by  Friends,  should  be  permitted  to  gain  ground,  "  the 
craft  by  which  they  had  their  wealth  would  be  set  at  naught." 

After  the  termination  of  his  imprisonment,  James  Nayler 
resumed  his  travels  in  the  service  of  the  ministry,  and  at 
length,  in  the  year  1654,  came  to  London.  He  declares 
that  he  entered  that  city  with  the  greatest  fear  that  had 
ever  been  his  experience  on  entering  any  place  ;  foreseeing 
in  spirit  that  something  would  befall  him  in  it,  but  not 
knowing  what  it  was  to  be. 

Edward  Burrough  and  Francis  Howgill,  who  had  been 
fellow-prisoners  of  his  at  Appleby,  had  been  the  means,  as 
before  observed,  of  gathering  a  congregation  of  Friends  in 
London ;  but  Is'ayler  now  preaching  there  with  eminent 
power,  many  of  his  admirers  began  to  draw  comparisons 
between  him  and  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  ;  and  about 
the  year  1656,  some  inconsiderate  women  thus  undervaluing 
Burrough  and  Howgill,  presumed  to  disturb  them  in  their 
public  ministry.  Being  reproved  by  the  two  ministers,  they 
endeavored,  though  at  first  unsuccessfully,  to  enlist  the  feel- 
ings of  James  Nayler  in  their  favor.    But  James,  having 


106  HTSTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1656.  ^ 

too  deep  an  understanding  of  the  soundness  of  his  brethren's 
judgment,  was  not  forward  to  condemn  them ;  whereupon 
one  of  these  deluded  persons,  named  Martha  Simmons,  fell 
into  a  kind  of  paroxysm,  and  exclaimed  with  a  shrill, 
piercing  voice,  "  I  looked  for  judgment,  but  behold  a  cry  ! " 
—  accompanying  her  words  with  such  bitter  lamentations, 
that  poor  James,  too  easily  yielding  to  feelings  of  com- 
passion, instead  of  rebuking  her  folly,  became  not  only  the 
dupe  of  her  violent  grief  and  of  that  of  her  associates,  but 
was  also  further  led  aside  by  their  flattery.  From  one  step 
to  another  he  at  length  arrived  at  such  a  height  of  spiritual 
pride,  as  to  hear,  even  with  a  secret  feeling  of  complacency, 
the  wildest  adulation  of  this  woman,  and  of  the  other 
enthusiastic  females  who  surrounded  him.  Among  them 
was  one  Hannah  Stranger,  who,  it  is  said,  addressed  to  him 
several  very  w^ild  and  preposterous  epistles ;  calling  him 
"  the  everlasting  Son  of  righteousness  —  the  Prince  of 
Peace  —  the  fairest  among  ten  thousand,  &c. : "  and  she, 
together  with  some  of  the  others,  in  their  fanatical  folly, 
would  kneel  before  him  and  kiss  his  feet. 

This  was  a  time  of  great  darkness,  as  James  afterwards 
acknowledged.  And  "  if  the  light  that  is  in  you  be  dark- 
ness, how  great  is  that  darkness  ! "  It  is  remarkable  that 
he  declared  it  to  have  been  his  fear  of  opposing  what  might 
be  right  in  his  partisans,  that  prevented  him  from  rebuking 
their  extravagancies ;  and  having  lost  the  spirit  of  discern- 
ment, he  was  in  a  situation  to  accept  almost  any  thing  for 
the  truth,  more  especially  that  which  was  gratifying  to  the 
natural  feelings.  He  went  to  Bristol,  accompanied  by  his 
frantic  admirers,  and  after  making  a  disturbance  there,  he 
was  proceeding  towards  Launceston,  in  order  to  meet  with 
George  Fox  (for  what  purpose  it  does  not  appear),  when  he 
was  stopped  by  the  way  and  imprisoned  at  Exeter.  George 
Fox  being  released  on  the  13th  of  the  Seventh  month  from 
Launceston  jail,  went  to  Exeter  and  warned  James  Nayler ; 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


107 


who,  however,  slighted  his  advice,  though  he  testified 
affectionate  feelings  towards  his  friend.  But  the  unflinch- 
ing integrity  of  George  Fox  would  not  allow  him  to  receive 
his  proffered  salute  while  mixed  with  so  much  wilful  error ; 
and  he  rejected  it  with  the  remark,  that  since  James  had 
turned  against  the  power  of  God,  he  w^ould  not  receive  his 
show  of  kindness.  "  The  Lord,"  says  he,  "  moved  me  to 
slight  him,  and  to  set  the  power  of  God  over  him.  I  ad- 
monished him  and  his  company  ;  and  when  he  was  come  to 
London,  his  resisting  the  power  of  God  in  me,  and  the  truth 
that  was  declared  to  him  by  me,  became  one  of  his  greatest 
burdens." 

After  his  release  from  Exeter  prison,  James  Nayler  rode 
into  Bristol,  accompanied  by  his  wild  disciples ;  one  of 
whom,  named  Thomas  Woodcock,  went  bareheaded  before 
him,  whilst  one  <r  he  women  led  his  horse;  Martha  Sim- 
mons, Hannah  Si  anger,  and  others,  spreading  their  scarfs 
and  handkerchiets  before  him,  and  the  whole  company 
shouting  Hosanna!  etc.  in  imitation  of  the  manner  of  the 
entry  of  Christ  into  Jerusalem.  It  was  to  be  expected  that 
so  extravagant  an  act  should  attract  the  notice  of  the  police 
and  magistrates.  The  procession  had  scarcely  passed  the 
suburbs,  before  they  were  all  apprehended,  and  put  in 
prison  ;  and  soon  afterwards,  James  was  taken  to  London, 
to  be  examined  by  the  Parliament. 

The  fall  of  this  eminent  man  was  eagerly  seized  upon  as 
a  favorable  opportunity  for  aiming  a  blow  at  the  rising 
Society  of  Friends.  Many  of  the  members  of  Parliament 
were  strict  adherents  to  the  settled  forms  of  religion,  but 
enemies  to  its  true  spirit ;  and  could  not  tolerate  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  principles  of  Friends,  because  of  the  severe 
reproofs  thereby  administered  to  their  own  system  of  notions, 
and  head-knowledge;  and  their  animosity  against  the  So- 
ciety being  afresh  excited,  they  treated  their  victim  with 
the  greater  severity,  not  caring  to  discern  that  his  crime 


108 


HISTORICAL    MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


was  a  departure  from  the  purity  of  his  profession.  The 
house  took  up  the  subject  on  the  30th  of  what  was  called 
iS^ovember,  1656,  and  the  report  of  the  committee  was  re- 
ceived on  the  fifth  of  the  following  month.  On  the  16th, 
the  business  was  brought  before  it  for  the  ticelfth  time,  after 
having  been  discussed,  forenoon  and  afternoon  in  the 
interim,  many  members  not  approving  the  severity  proposed 
to  be  used  against  him.  A  motion  was  made  that  the  pun- 
ishment should,  be  death ;  but  this  was  lost  by  a  vote  of 
eighty-two  to  ninety-six ;  and  after  a  long  debate,  on  the 
17th  they  came  to  the  following  resolution,  viz.  "That 
James  Nayler  be  set  on  the  pillory,  with  his  head  in  the 
pillory,  in  the  palace-yard,  Westminster,  during  the  space 
of  two  hours,  on  Thursday  next ;  and  be  whipped  by  the 
hangman  through  the  streets,  from  Westminster  to  the  Old 
Exchange,  London ;  and  there  likewise  be  set  on  the  pil- 
lory, with  his  head  in  the  pillory,  for  the  space  of  two 
hours,  between  the  hours  of  eleven  and  one,  on  Saturday 
next ;  in  each  place  wearing  a  paper  containing  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  crimes :  that  at  the  Old  Exchange,  his  tongue  be 
bored  through  with  a  hot  iron !  and  that  he  be  there  also 
stigmatized  on  the  forehead  with  the  letter  B ;  that  he  be 
afterwards  sent  to  Bristol,  and  be  conveyed  into,  and  through 
the  said  city  on  horseback,  with  his  face  backward ;  and 
there  also  publicly  whipped,  the  next  market-day  after  he 
comes  thither ;  that  from  thence,  he  be  committed  to  prison, 
in  Bridewell,  London  ;  be  there  restrained  from  the  society 
of  all  people ;  and  there  to  labor  hard,  till  he  shall  be  re- 
leased by  parliament ;  and  during  that  time,  be  debarred 
the  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  have  no  relief  but 
Avhat  he  earns  by  his  daily  labors." 

This  sentence  was  considered  by  the  public,  to  be  too 
severe  a  judgment  on  a  man  Av-hose  sin  seemed  more  the 
result  of  a  clouded  understanding,  than  of  depraved  inten- 
tions ;  and  accordingly  several  persons  of  different  persua- 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


109 


sions  in  religion,  offered  jDetitions  to  the  parliament  on  his 
behalf;  which  petitions  it  was  resolved  not  to  read,  till  the 
sentence  was  pronounced  against  him.  James  was  denied 
the  liberty  of  offering  anything  in  arrest  of  judgment,  and 
when  he  remarked,  as  the  speaker  was  about  to  pronounce 
sentence,  that  "  he  did  not  know  his  offence,"  he  was  briefly 
answered,  "  that  he  should  know  his  offence  by  his  punish- 
ment." He  received  the  sentence  with  great  calmness,  and 
was  heard  to  say  with  a  composed  manner,  "  I  pray  God  he 
may  not  lay  it  to  your  charge." 

On  the  day  appointed,  he  suffered  the  first  part  of  his 
punishment.  He  remained  two  hours  exposed  in  the  pillory, 
and  was  then  stripped,  and  being  fastened  to  a  cart,  was 
dragged  through  the  streets,  receiving  three  hundred  and 
ten  strokes  of  the  whip.  The  patience  with  which  he  sus- 
tained this  severe  treatment,  astonished  many,  especially 
when  they  beheld  the  pitiable  condition  of  his  poor  lacerated 
body,  which  was  suffered  to  go  two  hours  without  the  oppor- 
tunity of  being  dressed,  and  on  which,  according  to  a  certifi- 
cate presented  to  parliament,  "  there  was  not  the  space  of  a 
man's  nail  fre^  from  stripes  and  blood,  from  his  shoulders 
near  to  his  waist ! " 

Two  days  after  this,  he  was  to  have  undergone  the  further 
punishment  of  being  again  put  in  the  pillory,  of  being 
branded  in  the  forehead,  and  having  his  tongue  burnt 
through  with  a  hot  iron ;  but  he  was  found  to  be  so  much 
exhausted  by  the  severity  of  that  cruel  whipping,  that  several 
persons  of  note,  not  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
moved  with  commiseration  of  his  pitiable  condition,  inter- 
ceded with  his  judges,  and  obtained  from  parliament  a 
respite  of  one  week.  In  the  mean  time,  another  petition, 
numerously  signed,  was  presented  at  the  bar  of  the  house, 
by  about  one  hundred  of  the  signers,  in  which  they  used  the 
following  expressions : 

"  Your  moderation  and  clemency,  in  respiting  the  punish- 
10 


110  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1656. 


ment  of  James  Nayler,  in  consideration  of  his  illness  of  body, 
hath  refreshed  the  hearts  of  many  thousands,  altogether 
unconcerned  in  his  practice: — wherefore  we  most  humbly 
beg  your  pardon,  that  are  constrained  to  appear  before  you 
in  such  a  suit,  (not  daring  to  do  otherwise,)  that  you  would 
remit  the  remaining  part  of  your  sentence  against  the  said 
James  Nayler,  leaving  him  to  the  Lord,  and  to  such  gospel 
remedies  as  He  hath  sanctified ;  and  we  are  persuaded  you 
will  find  such  a  course  of  love  and  forbearance  more  effectual 
to  reclaim,  and  will  leave  a  seal  of  your  love  and  tenderness 
upon  our  spirits,"  &c. 

This  petition  was  followed  by  one  addressed  to  Oliver 
Cromwell,  the  Protector ;  which  occasioned  him  to  send  a 
message  to  the  house  for  information  respecting  their  pro- 
ceedings on  the  s  ibject;  but  the  only  result  was  empty 
discussion,  the  majority  of  the  parliament  appearing 
determined  to  make  the  most  of  this  case,  and  some  even 
disposed  to  carry  their  severity  to  the  extent  of  taking  the 
life  of  their  victim.  A  delegation  of  five  professed  ministers 
of  religion  was  sent  to  confer  with  him,  who  refused  to  allow 
any  witness  to  be  present  at  their  interview.  James,  being 
alarmed  at  this,  declined  saying  any  thing  to  them,  unless 
what  was  said  should  be  written  down,  and  a  copy,  signed 
by  themselves,  should  be  left  either  with  him  or  with  the 
keeper  of  the  prison  where  he  was  confined.  To  this  they 
agreed;  but  after  considerable  discourse,  and  James  taxing 
them  with  seeking  to  ensnare  him,  they  rose  up  in  a  fret, 
burned  what  had  been  written,  and  left  him.  It  would  seem 
by  what  James  Nayler  afterwards  related  of  this  interview, 
and  his  replies  to  them,  that  he,  poor  man,  was  still,  in  some 
degree,  under  the  power  of  that  delusion  which  had  brought 
him  into  these  sufferings ;  for  he  was  not  prepared  to 
acknowledge  that  the  extravagant  behavior  of  his  fanatical 
followers  should  have  been  reproved  by  him.  He  attempted 
to  palliate  their  falling  down  before  him,  by  the  supposition 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


Ill 


that  it  was  intended  as  an  act  of  homage,  not  to  him  as  a 
creature,  but  to  the  power  of  Christ  which  they  believed  to 
be  manifest  in  him. 

On  the  27th  of  the  month,  he  was  conveyed  from  Newgate 
to  the  Old  Exchange,  where  he  was  again  exposed  in  the 
pillory,  and  suffered  the  boring  of  his  tongue  with  a  red-hot 
iron,  (which  was  held  for  a  short  time  in  his  tongue,  that  the 
bystanders  might  witness  the  fact,)  and  also  the  branding 
with  a  red-hot  iron  on  the  forehead,  until  smoke  arose  from 
the  burning  flesh !  All  this  he  bore  with  wonderful  patience, 
and  it  would  seem  that  compassion  had  been  excited  by  his 
sufferings,  in  the  public  mind ;  for  though  many  thousands 
were  said  to  be  assembled  on  the  occasion,  yet  few  were 
observed  to  revile  him,  or  throw  anything  at  him  while  in 
the  pillory ;  and  while  he  was  undergoing  the  burning  on 
the  forehead,  the  people,  as  if  with  one  simultaneous  emotion, 
stood  bareheaded. 

After  this,  he  was  sent  to  Bristol,  to  undergo  the  remainder 
of  his  punishment ;  where  he  VN'as  whipped  through  the 
streets ;  and  finally  was  returned  to  London,  and  kept  in 
prison  until  the  summer  of  1658. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  so  great  a  fall  in  an  esteemed 
member  amongst  Friends,  would  be  cause  of  triumph  to 
their  numerous  enemies.  Such  indeed  was  the  case;  and 
desiring  to  make  what  was  bad  still  worse,  the  vilest  calum- 
nies were  also  set  afloat  against  his  moral  character.  From 
these,  however,  he  was  enabled  fully  to  clear  himself.  His 
transgressions  had  their  origin  in  spiritual  pride,  excited  by 
the  adulation  of  weak  fanatics,  and  turned  to  the  purpose 
of  his  destruction  by  the  adversary  of  his  soul,  who  goeth 
about  as  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour,  and 
as  an  envious,  cunning  serpent,  seeking  whom  he  may  betray. 
But  though  this  wanderer  from  the  flock  had  so  grievously 
missed  his  way,  and  fallen  among  thieves,  he  was  mercifully 
followed,  by  the  reclaiming,  redeeming  power  of  Israel's 


112 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1658. 


Shephei  d.  During  the  solitude  afforded  by  his  close  con- 
fiuemeiit,  his  mind  was  more  and  more  softened ;  and  as  the 
mists  of  error  faded  away  under  the  reviving  power  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness,  he  felt  the  healing  virtue  of  his 
Saviour's  wing,  and  was  enabled  to  pour  forth,  in  many 
touching  effusions,  the  penitence  of  his  soul. 

On  his  liberation,  which  occurred  very  soon  after  the 
death  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  about  the  Seventh  month,  1658, 
he  went  to  Bristol,  the  chief  scene  of  his  offence;  in  which 
city,  in  a  public  meeting,  he  made  a  confession  of  his  fault 
in  so  affecting  a  manner,  as  to  draw  tears  from  most  of  those 
who  were  present,  and  to  occasion  his  reconciliation  with 
many  who  had  been  estranged  from  him.  The  following 
expressions,  forming  part  of  a  paper  addressed  by  him  to 
Friends,  feelinglj^  set  forth  his  sincere  repentance. 

"Dear  brethren,"  says  he,  "my  heart  is  broken  this  day 
for  the  offence  that  I  have  occasioned  to  God's  truth  and 
people,  and  especially  to  you,  who  in  dear  love  followed  me, 
seeking  me  in  faithfulness  to  God ;  which  I  rejected,  being 
bound  wherein  I  could  not  come  forth,  till  God's  hand 
brought  me,  to  whose  love  I  now  confess.  Unless  the  Lord 
himself  keep  you  from  me,  I  beseech  you  let  nothing  else 
hinder  your  coming  to  me,  that  I  might  have  your  help  in 
the  Lord.  In  the  mercies  of  Christ  Jesus,  this  I  beg  of  you, 
as  if  it  was  your  own  case :  let  me  not  be  forgotten  by  you. 
And  I  entreat  you  to  speak  to  whoever  I  have  most  offended  ; 
and  by  the  power  of  God,  and  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ  Jesus, 
I  am  willing  to  confess  the  offence ;  that  God's  love  may 
arise  in  all  hearts  as  before,  if  it  be  his  will,  who  only  can 
remove  what  stands  in  the  way ;  and  nothing  thereof  do  I 
intend  to  cover;  God  is  witness." 

And  in  another  paper,  after  giving  praise  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  his  Saviour,  and  the  rock  of  his  salvation,  who 
had  lifted  him  out  of  the  pit,  delivered  him  from  darkness, 
and  given  quietness  and  patience  to  his  soul,  he  adds  :  "  But 


1660.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


113 


condemned  for  ever  be  all  those  false  worships,  ^Yith  which 
any  have  idolized  my  person  in  the  night  of  my  temptation, 
when  the  power  of  darkness  was  above.  All  their  casting 
of  their  clothes  in  the  way,  their  bowings  and  singings,  and 
all  the  rest  of  those  wild  actions  which  did  any  ways  tend  to 
dishonor  the  Lord,  or  draw  the  minds  of  any  from  the 
measure  of  Christ  Jesus  in  themselves,  to  look  at  flesh,  or 
ascribe  that  to  the  visible,  which  belongs  to  Christ  Jesus,  all 
that  I  condemn.  And  all  those  ranting,  wild  spirits,  which 
gathered  about  me  in  that  time  of  darkness,  and  all  their 
wild  actions,  and  wicked  words  against  the  honor  of  God 
and  his  pure  Spirit  and  people,  I  deny  that  bad  spirit,  the 
power  and  the  works  thereof  And  as  far  as  I  gave  advan- 
tage, through  want  of  judgment,  for  that  evil  spirit  in  any 
to  arise,  I  take  shame  to  myself  justly." 

In  another  paper,  relating  how  he  was  betrayed  into  this 
snare,  he  instructively  attributes  it  in  great  measure  to  his 
"  not  minding  to  stand  single  and  low ; "  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  if  he  had  kept  humbly  on  the  watch,  with 
his  eye  single  to  the  divine  Light  and  Leader,  he  would 
have  been  preserved  blameless  by  the  same  power  that  so 
livingly  sent  him  forth  at  first  to  preach  His  gospel.  But 
"there  is  joy  in  Heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth;" 
and  there  is  joy  also  in  the  church  over  the  healing  virtue 
of  that  divine  love  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  holy  unction  of 
which  is  often  efiectual  for  the  restoration  of  the  diseased 
and  crippled  members  to  life,  and  health,  and  unity  once 
more  with  the  body.  George  Whitehead,  who  knew  James 
Nayler  well,  testifies  of  his  latter  days,  that  "he  was  re- 
vived by  the  Lord's  power,  and  in  measure  restored  to  his 
ancient  testimony,  and  to  bear  the  same  publicly,  as  the 
Lord  enabled  him,  both  in  ministry  and  writings ;  and  he 
walked  in  much  brotherly  love  and  simplicity  among  us, 
until  his  end  came." 

He  lived  rather  more  than  two  years  after  his  lil)eration 
10* 


114 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1660. 


from  prison,  and  spent  his  time  in  great  self-denial  and 
watchfulness.  Departing  from  London,  towards  the  latter 
part  of  the  summer  of  1660,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  his 
family  in  Yorkshire,  he  was  seen  by  a  Friend  at  Hertford, 
sitting  by  the  roadside,  in  a  very  solemn  and  retired  frame 
of  spirit.  This  Friend  invited  him  to  his  house;  but  he 
expressed  a  wish  to  proceed.  In  passing  on  foot  through 
Huntingdon,  he  was  observed  by  another  Friend  to  be  in 
a  particularly  solid  frame  of  mind,  like  one  who  felt  him- 
self to  be  a  stranger  in  the  earth,  and  seeking  a  better  and 
an  enduring  inheritance.  Soon  after  this,  he  was  found 
towards  evening  by  a  countryman,  very  ill,  on  a  field,  near 
King's  Eippon,  having  (as  it  was  supposed)  been  robbed 
and  personally  abused.  He  was  taken  to  a  Friend's  house, 
and  attended  by  a  physician,  but  gradually  sunk  away. 
He  expressed  his  love  for  Friends,  and  to  those  around  him 
he  said,  "You  have  refreshed  my  body — the  Lord  refresh 
your  souls ! "  About  two  hours  before  his  decease,  he  uttered, 
among  others,  the  following  heavenly  expressions,  evincing 
in  a  consolatory  manner,  his  restoration  to  the  divine  fa- 
vor :  "  There  is  a  spirit  which  I  feel,  that  delights  to  do  no 
evil,  nor  to  revenge  any  wrong ;  but  delights  to  endure  all 
things,  in  hope  to  enjoy  its  own  in  the  end.  Its  hope  is  to 
outlive  all  wrath  and  contention,  and  to  weary  out  all  ex- 
altation and  cruelty,  or  whatever  is  of  a  nature  contrary  to 
itself  Its  crown  is  meekness ;  its  life  is  everlasting  love 
unfeigned.  It  takes  its  kingdom  with  entreaty,  and  keeps 
it  by  lowliness  of  mind.  In  God  alone  it  can  rejoice.  I 
have  fellowship  therein,  with  those  who  lived  in  dens  and 
desolate  places  in  the  earth ;  who  through  death  obtained 
this  resurrection,  and  eternal  holy  life ! "  He  quietly  de- 
parted, about  the  44th  year  of  his  age. 

Such  was  the  career  of  James  Nayler,  and  such  his 
peaceful  close.  Awfully  instructive  was  his  fall,  as  a 
warning  to  all  to  beware  of  that  spirit  which  would  lift  us 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXD3. 


115 


up  above  the  pure  teachings  of  the  "still  small  voice"  in 
the  secret  recesses  of  the  heart.  And  sweetly  edifying  is  it 
also  to  dwell  on  the  dejDth  and  riches  of  that  redeeming 
love  which  raised  the  poor  soul  from  the  horrible  pit,  and 
set  his  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  put  a  new  song  into  his  mouth, 
even  praises  to  his  great  and  gracious  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FIRST  VISITS  OF  FRIENDS  TO  AMERICA  —  CRUEL  PERSECU- 
TIONS IX  NEW  ENGLAND,  ETC. 

THIS  eventful  year  to  the  Society  of  Friends  (1656)  was 
also  remarkable  as  being  the  era  of  the  first  arrival  of 
any  of  the  ministers  of  the  Society  on  the  continent  of 
America. 

Mary  Fisher,  a  young  woman  of  about  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  Anne  Austin,  who  had  a  husband  and  five  chil- 
dren residing  in  London,  were,  in  1655,  travelling  together 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  in  the  island  of  Barbadoes^ 
and  in  the  spring  of  1656,  they  sailed  for  Boston,  under  a 
concern  of  mind  to  spread  the  doctrines  of  the  true  spirit- 
ual religion  among  the  high  professing,  but  priest-ridden 
and  intolerant  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Nearly 
twenty  years  before  this,  Rhode  Island  had  been  purchased 
from  the  Narragansett  Indians  for  fifty  fathoms  of  beads, 
and  settled  by  a  colony  from  Boston,  who  had  left  the  latter 
ix)wn  in  disgust  at  the  attempts  made  to  introduce  by  force, 
a  system  of  religious  uniformity.  Many  of  these  original 
colonists  of  Rhode  Island  afterwards  became  Friends,  and 
afforded  a  quiet  resting-place  for  the  poor  persecuted  mem- 
bers of  the  Society,  when  whipped  or  banished  out  of  the 
adjoining  patent. 


116  HTSTORTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1656.' 

Anne  Austin  and  her  companion  arrived  at  Boston  in  ■ 
the  Fifth  month,  and  their  arrival  was  quickly  announced 
to  the  deputy-governor ;  who  in  his  zeal  to  prevent  any  in- 
roads on  the  settled  religious  opinions  of  the  colony,  com- 
manded that  they  should  be  closely  confined  on  board  the 
ship  that  brought  them,  and  that  their  books  should  be 
burned  by  the  common  executioner,  under  the  vague  and  \ 
false  charge  of  heresy  and  blasphemy.  The  council  also 
ordered  that  the  women  should  be  closely  imprisoned,  and 
that  the  captain  of  the  ship  should  give  security,  on  pain 
of  imprisonment,  to  convey  them  back  speedily  to  Barba- 
does,  at  his  own  cost.  So  fearful  were  those  bigoted  people 
of  the  light  of  truth  to  discover  their  false  opinions  and  evil 
deeds. 

Being  brought  on  shore,  these  harmless  and  innocent 
women  were  closely  confined,  and  a  penalty  of  five  pounds  . 
threatened  against  any  one  who  should  even  speak  to  them 
through  the  window  of  their  prison.    The  window  indeed 
was  afterwards  boarded  up,  and  their  pens,  ink  and  paper  j 
were  taken  from  them,  to  prevent  any  communication  with  ] 
the  citizens.    Their  persecutors  now  raised  the  cry  of  witch-  ' 
craft,  doubtless  with  the  hope  of  putting  them  to  the  same 
death  as  had  already  been  meted  out  to  two  women  a  short 
time  previous.    Finding  no  overt  act  as  evidence  of  this 
unfounded  charge,  they  scrupled  not  to  examine  the  per- 
sons of  their  prisoners,  in  a  cruel  and  indecent  manner,  to 
see  if  there  were  no  mark  of  witchcraft  upon  them,  under  ; 
the  popular  superstitious  notion  that  some  unusual  sign 
was  set  upon  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  thus  sold  them- 
selves to  satan.    Their  enemies  now  refused  to  supply  them 
with  food,  or  allow  it  to  be  brought  to  them  by  the  citi-  : 
zens ;  but  an  aged  inhabitant,  touched  with  compassion  for 
their  sufferings,  bribed  the  jailer  to  allow  him  privately  to 
furnish  them  with  provisions. 

After  an  imprisonment  of  nearly  five  weeks,  they  were 


1656.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


117 


^shipped  back  to  Barbadoes  under  strict  guard.  But 
scarcely  had  these  two  ministers  of  the  Gospel  sailed  from 
the  port,  when  a  vessel  arrived  from  London,  bringing 
eight  others,  viz. ;  four  men  and  four  women.  These  also 
^vere  immediately  seized,  carried  before  the  court  then  sit- 
ting, and  subjected  to  a  long  and  frivolous  examination. 
Their  trunks  on  board  the  vessel  were  searched  "  for  erro- 
Deous  books  and  hellish  pamphlets."  During  their  exam- 
ination they  steadfastly  maintained  that  the  Scriptures 
were  not  the  main  or  only  guide  of  life,  and  that  the  "  more 
sure  word  of  prophecy,"  mentioned  by  Peter  (2  Peter  i.  19), 
was  the  eternal  Word  and  sure  guide  to  which  we  are  to 
take  heed.  Sentence  of  banishment  was  pronounced  upon 
them,  and  they  were  directed  to  be  kept  close  prisoners, 
without  paper  or  ink,  and  all  communication  forbidden 
with  the  citizens,  until  they  could  be  returned  by  the  same 
ship  that  brought  them  thither ;  the  captain  being  also  im- 
prisoned for  four  days,  to  induce  him  to  give  bond  to  take 
them  back  at  his  own  charge. 

All  that  had  hitherto  been  done  against  Friends,  was 
without  even  the  shadow  of  law ;  for  they  had  been  seized 
before  setting  their  feet  in  the  country,  and  thus  prevented, 
even  if  so  disposed,  from  violating  any  of  the  laws  of  the 
colony.  But  their  persecutors  now  framed  a  law  to  sanction 
!  their  past  and  future  arbitrary  proceedings,  in  which  the 
"  cursed  sect  of  heretics,  commonly  called  Quakers,"  were 
severely  denounced,  and  all  captains  of  vessels  knowingly 
bringing  any  of  them  into  the  colony,  were  made  liable  to 
a  fine  of  one  hundred  pounds,  or  to  be  thrown  into  prison 
till  paid,  and  were  to  give  security  to  carry  them  back  to 
the  place  whence  they  should  have  come.  It  was  further 
enacted,  that  any  Quaker  who  should  arrive  should  be 
forthwith  committed  to  the  house  of  correction,  be  severely 
whipped,  and  kept  constantly  at  w^ork,  without  being 
allowed  to  speak  with  any  one  during  his  or  her  imprison- 


118 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1656. 


ment.    The  rest  of  the  law  was  of  the  same  spirit,  pro- 
viding for  the  punishment  of  any  who  should  possess 
Friends'  books,  or  advocate  their  principles.    After  it  was 
passed,  it  was  proclaimed  through  the  streets  by  beat  of 
drum.    Nicholas  Upshall,  the  aged  inhabitant  who  had 
supplied  Anne  Austin  and  Mary  Fisher  with  food,  became 
much  interested  in  Friends  and  in  their  principles  ;  and 
when  this  law  was  proclaimed  before  his  door,  he  publicly 
testified  his  disapprobation  of  it.    For  this  offence  he  was 
cited  before  the  court,  where  he  spoke  in  much  tenderness, 
but  warned  them  to  "  take  heed  lest  they  should  be  found 
fighting  against  God."    He  was  fined,  imprisoned,  and 
banished  from  Boston  patent.    This  venerable  man  took 
refuge  in  Sandwich ;  but  the  governor  of  Plymouth  patent 
forbade  the  inhabitants  of  Sandwich  to  offer  him  shelter, 
and  directed  him  to  be  brought  before  him  at  Plymouth. 
These  tyrannical  proceedings,  both  at  Boston  and  elsewhere, 
had  the  good  effect  of  opening  the  eyes  of  some,  to  see  the 
inconsistency  of  the  rulers'  conduct  with  the  precepts  of  the 
Gospel,  and  tended  to  prepare  the  sincere-hearted  among 
the  people  for  sympathizing  with  the  oppressed,  and  re- 
ceiving with  openness  the  doctrines  of  Friends,  which,  not- 
withstanding all  these  attempts  to  suppress  them,  were  more 
or  less  spread  abroad  in  the  country.    The  eight  Friends 
above  mentioned  were,  on  the  passing  of  the  new  law, 
hurried  on  ship-board,  to  be  conveyed  away ;  and  as  all 
their  bedding  had  been  seized  for  the  jailers'  fees,  some  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  affected  at  the  idea  of 
these  innocent  sufferers  being  obliged  to  take  such  a  voyage 
without  bedding  to  rest  upon,  subscribed  a  sum  of  money, 
and  redeemed  their  goods  for  them  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
jailer.    Such  was  the  reception  which  Friends  met  with  on 
first  setting  foot  in  New  England,  from  a  people  who  pro- 
fessed that  for  the  sake  of  liberty  of  conscience,  they  had 
left  their  native  land  for  a  home  in  the  wilderness  of  North 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


119 


America.  This,  liowever,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  was  but 
the  beginning  of  a  persecution,  which  did  not  stop  until  it 
had,  on  the  gallows,  taken  the  lives  of  several  of  these 
devoted  people. 

The  next  Friends  who  came  to  Boston  were  again  two 
females ;  Anne  Burden  and  Mary  Dyer ;  who  arrived  early 
in  the  year  1657,  without  knowledge  of  the  cruelties  which 
had  been  already  exercised,  or  of  the  law  which  had  been 
passed  to  sanction  still  further  inflictions.  The  former  of 
these  women  came  over  to  collect  debts  due  to  the  estate  of 
her  deceased  husband,  with  whom  she  had  formerly  resided 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  ;  and  Mary  Dyer  was  on  her 
way  to  join  her  husband  in  Rhode  Island.  Both  had  prob- 
ably become  convinced  of  the  principles  of  Friends  in  Eng- 
land. They  were  now  seized  by  the  authorities  of  Boston, 
and  kept  close  prisonei^s,  until  Mary  Dyer's  husband  came 
from  Rhode  Island,  and  became  bound  in  a  great  penalty 
to  take  her  away  from  the  colony,  without  suffering  any  to 
I  speak  with  her ;  and  Anne  Burden,  without  being  suffered 
j  to  complete  the  business  which  had  brought  her  over,  and 
having  received  but  six  shillings  of  the  debts  due  to  her, 
was,  after  an  imprisonment  of  three  months,  conveyed  by  the 
common  hangman  on  board  the  vessel  which  had  brought 
iher  from  London. 

Of  the  eight  Friends  above  mentioned,  who  were  sent 
away  from  Boston  in  1656,  six  found  it  to  be  their  religious 
'duty  the  next  year  to  return  to  America,  and  were  joined 
by  five  others.  They  came  over  in  a  small  vessel  owned 
and  commanded  by  Robert  Fowler,  making  a  company  of 
twelve  zealous  advocates  for  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus ;  and 
were  remarkably  guided  and  protected  by  their  divine 
Master  on  the  arduous  voyage.  As  they  came  to  land, 
which  was  on  the  same  day  on  which  Humphrey  Norton, 
one  of  their  company,  had  early  in  the  voyage  mentioned 
that  he  believed  they  should  arrive,  "the  power  of  the 


120 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIES  OF 


[1657. 


Lord,"  to  use  their  own  language,  "  fell  upon  tliem,  and  an 
invisible  word  came  to  them,  that  the  seed  of  America 
should  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea."  Several  of  them  went 
ashore  at  New  Amsterdam,  (now  New  York,)  and  two  of 
them,  viz.,  Robert  Fo^vler  and  Robert  Hodgson,  visited  the 
governor,  who  received  them  civilly.  Two  others  of  their 
company,  however,  viz.,  Mary  Weatherhead  and  Dorothy 
AVaugh,  for  delivering  Christian  exhortations  to  the  people, 
were  committed  to  prison,  and  separately  confined  in  wet 
and  miry  dungeons,  for  more  than  a  week ;  when  they  were 
at  length  brought  out  by  two  negroes,  their  hands  being 
tied  behind  them ;  and  were  thus  led  to  the  water-side,  and 
placed  on  board  a  boat  for  Rhode  Island.  Robert  Hodgson 
passed  over  into  Long  Island,  and  was  made  instrumental 
to  the  convincement  of  many.  He  was  however  arrested 
at  Hempstead,  and  cruelly  pinioned,  tied  behind  a  cart, 
and  thus  dragged  nearly  thirty  miles  in  the  night,  over  bad 
roads,  and  mostly  through  the  woods  to  New  Amsterdam, 
where  he  was  thrown  into  a  dungeon  to  await  his  sentence. 
This  was  of  no  light  nature,  he  being  denied  a  hearing  in 
his  own  defence,  and  condemned,  for  preaching  the  Gospel 
freely  and  faithfully,  to  "  work  two  years  at  a  wheelbarrow, 
or  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid,  600  guilders."  The  fine  of 
course  he  could  not  pay,  as  he  was  innocent  of  any  crime, 
and  the  paying  of  it  would  have  been  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  authority  of  man  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  The  cruelties  he  underwent  while  thus  in  bond- 
age, would  have  disgraced  a  heathen  people.  Twice  he 
was  so  severely  beaten  by  a  negro,  with  a  tarred  rope  more 
than  an  inch  thick,  that  he  fainted  away.  He  was  confined 
two  nights  and  a  day  and  a  half  without  any  food.  Twice 
he  was  hung  up  by  his  hands,  and  weights  were  attached  to 
his  feet,  and  his  back  was  then  unmercifully  beaten  by  a 
strong  negro  with  rods.  Being  thus  brought  apparently 
very  near  the  close  of  all  mortal  suffering,  and  desiring  that 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


121 


some  English  people  might  be  permitted  to  visit  him  and 
examine  his  body,  a  woman  was  admitted,  who  washed  his 
stripes,  and  administered  what  she  could  to  his  necessities  ; 
but  his  strength  was  so  reduced,  his  flesh  so  lacerated,  and 
the  dungeon  so  devoid  of  all  comforts,  that  she  told  her 
husband  she  thought  Robert  could  not  live  till  the  next 
day.  A  number  of  the  inhabitants  now  offered  to  pay  the 
fine  for  him;  but  Robert  told  them  he  was  not  easy  to 
receive  his  freedom  that  way.  He  believed  the  Lord  would 
heal  him,  and  was  free  to  labor,  when  restored  to  strength, 
for  the  sustenance  he  should  need.  In  a  few  days  he  w^as 
favored  to  be  sufficiently  recruited  to  enable  him  to  work, 
and  was  well  contented  with  his  mean  fare  of  bread  and 
water.  At  length  the  community  at  large  became  so  dis- 
satisfied with  the  cruelties  and  continued  imprisonment  to 
which  he  was  subjected,  that  their  entreaties  prevailed  on 
the  governor  to  set  him  at  liberty. 

Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland,  two  of  the  fellow- 
passengers  of  Robert  Hodgson,  went  over  into  the  island 
called  Martha's  vineyard,  where  there  was  a  mission  estab- 
lished among  the  native  Indians.  But  the  priests  of  the 
mission  would  not  suffer  them  to  remain ;  and  after  a  few 
days'  hospitable  entertainment  by  the  poor  Indians,  they 
were  by  the  governor's  orders,  taken  from  the  island  in  a 
canoe,  and  landed  on  the  coast  near  Barnstable.  They 
were  gladly  received  at  Sandwich  by  some  sincere  seekers 
after  truth,  but  being  at  length  arrested  and  brought  to 
Plymouth,  and  thence  banished  from  the  jurisdiction,  they 
took  refuge  in  Rhode  Island. 

Mary  Clark  was  another  of  these  fellow-passengers,  who 
first  proceeded  to  Rhode  Island,  and  thence  to  Boston ;  re-- 
garding  not  what  sufferings  she  might  sustain,  so  that  she 
might  deliver  the  Lord's  errand  there,  and  "  be  discharged 
of  that  burden  of  the  word  which  lay  so  sore  upon  her." 
Here  she  was  arrested,  barbarously  beaten,  receiving  twenty 
11 


122 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OP  [1657. 


stripes  with  a  heavy  three-corded  whip  on  her  naked  back, 
and  committed  to  prison  for  twelve  weeks ;  during  the  latter 
part  of  which  she  suffered  much  from  the  cold.  After  her 
release,  she  labored  in  the  gospel  throughout  New  England, 
until  the  next  summer,  when,  with  Richard  Dowdney  and 
Mary  Weatherhead,  who  also  composed  part  of  Robert 
Fowler's  company,  she  suffered  shipwreck,  being  suddenly 
called  by  her  heavenly  Master,  from  the  scene  of  her  suf- 
ferings in  this  world,  to  the  eternal  reward  prepared  for 
those  who  have  come  through  much  tribulation,  and  had 
their  robes  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland  were  also  called 
to  suffer  for  their  testimony  to  the  truth.  They  proceeded 
from  Rhode  Island  into  Massachusetts,  and  freely  preached 
the  gospel ;  which  found  place  among  many,  and  took  such 
root  that  all  the  endeavors  of  interested  and  bigoted  men 
could  not  eradicate  it.  But  going  into  the  public  w  orship 
house  at  Salem  on  a  First-day,  Christopher  was  moved  to 
speak  a  few  words  after  the  usual  service  was  over.  On 
this  he  was  furiously  seized  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  and  a 
glove  and  handkerchief  thrust  into  his  mouth.  The  two 
Friends  were  violently  carried  away,  and  taken  to  Boston ; 
where  they  received  each  thirty  strokes  of  a  three-corded 
and  knotted  whip,  laid  on  with  the  executioner's  utmost 
strength.  Their  bodies  were  thereby  miserably  torn  and 
inflamed ;  yet  they  were  allowed  neither  bed  nor  straw  to 
lie  on,  and  for  three  days  the  jailer  furnished  them  neither 
food  nor  drink  ;  the  only  sustenance  they  received,  being  a 
little  water  given  them  by  one  of  the  prisoners,  who,  for 
this  act  of  charity,  was  fiercely  threatened  by  the  jailer. 
They  were  not  however  forsaken  by  their  Divine  Master, 
but  sustained  and  preserved  in  this  time  of  extremity,  and 
enabled  to  rejoice  in  the  sensible  evidence  of  His  approving 
presence.  Richard  Dowdney  also,  who  had  come  through 
Long  Island  and  Rhode  Island  to  Boston,  was  imprisoned 
with  them. 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FEIEXDS. 


123 


Humphrey  Norton,  before  mentioned,  remained  some 
time  in  Rhode  Island  and  Providence,  and  then  went  to 
visit  the  seed  sown  and  springing  up  in  Plymouth  colony. 
He  was  not  permitted  long  to  minister  among  the  new  con- 
verts there,  but  was  arrested  by  a  warrant  from  the  governor, 
as  "  an  extravagant  person,"  and  detained  long  without  an 
examination.  At  length  he  was  brought  before  the  court, 
where  many  of  the  magistrates  appeared  disposed  to  be 
moderate.  But  the  governor  was  violent  against  him,  and 
commenced  an  attack  on  the  principles  of  Friends,  denying 
that  the  Light  which  enlighteneth  every  one  was  sufficient 
to  salvation.  Humphrey,  to  manifest  his  blindness,  showed 
him  in  express  words  of  Scripture,  that  "  the  grace  of  God, 
that  hringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  unto  all  men ; "  and 
that  Christ  had  said,  "my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee." 
The  governor  then  asked  him,  "whether  the  Scriptures 
were  not  the  rule  of  life,  and  ground  of  faith  ?"  Humphrey 
replied  in  the  negative,  and  proved,  from  the  Scriptures 
!  themselves,  that  they  did  not  claim  this  character ;  inform- 
ing them  that  it  was  "through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,"  the 
great  Author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  and  the  true  Rule 
and  Guide  of  life,  that  the  Scriptures  were  able  to  make 
wise  unto  salvation.  The  governor  was  unable  to  convict 
him  of  any  breach  of  the  laws,  yet  he  banished  him  from 
the  colony,  and  had  him  conveyed  fifty  miles  on  the  way 
to  Rhode  Island.  Some  time  after  this,  travelling  near 
New  Haven,  he  was  arrested,  confined  a  considerable  time 
in  prison,  cruelly  whipped  and  burnt  in  the  hand,  and 
banished  the  patent. 

The  rulers  of  Boston,  finding  that  notwithstanding  their 
persecuting  law,  the  seeds  of  truth  had  taken  root  among 
many  at  Salem,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  colony,  and  that 
the  Quakers  still  continued  to  come  in  among  them,  drew 
the  cords  of  persecution  still  tighter,  and  passed  a  law  im- 
posing a  fine  of  one  hundred  pounds  (or  imprisonment  till 


124 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657 


paid)  on  any  one  who  should  "  bring  or  cause  to  be  brough' 
any  Quakers  or  other  blasphemous  heretics  into  the  juris 
diction ; "  and  a  penalty  of  forty  shillings  per  hour  upoi 
any  one  who  should  entertain  or  conceal  them  in  theii 
houses ;  and  enacting  that  every  Quaker  who  should  pre 
sume  to  enter  the  colony,  after  having  once  suffered  wha1 
the  former  law  inflicted,  (if  a  man,)  should,  for  the  first  of 
fence,  have  one  of  his  ears  cut  off,  and  be  kept  at  work  ii 
the  house  of  correction,  till  he  can  be  sent  away  at  his  owi 
charge ;  and  for  the  second  offence,  shall  have  his  other  eaj 
cut  off,  and  be  kept  at  work  as  before ;  or  (if  a  woman)  shall ' 
be  severely  whipped  and  kept  at  work;  and  that  for  the 
third  offence,  whether  man  or  woman,  their  tongues  should 
be  bored  through  with  a  hot  iron,  and  they  should  be  kejot 
at  work.    This  law  also  included  in  its  penalties,  those  who 
should  join  Friends  among  themselves;  and  as  they  had  now' 
a  number  of  this  devoted  people  in  confinement,  the  jailer 
received  orders  that  they  should  all  be  "  severely  whipped 
twice  a  week,  beginning  with  fifteen  lashes,  and  every  time 
to  exceed  three!"    The  Plymouth  colony  also  enacted  se-j 
vere  laws  against  Friends ;  and  the  governor  of  New  Am-i 
sterdam  published  a  law,  imposing  a  penalty  of  £50  ster- 
ling on  any  one  who  should  receive  a  Quaker  into  his 
house,  though  but  for  a  night ;  and  enacting  that  any  vessel  ■ 
bringing  a  Quaker  into  that  jurisdiction  should  be  forfeited, 
with  all  its  goods.    This  law  however  produced  great  dis- 
satisfaction among  the  more  serious  part  of  the  community, 
particularly  on  Long  Island ;  and  indeed  in  this,  as  well  as 
in  the  other  colonies,  the  power  and  wrath  of  man  were  not 
able  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  work  to  which  the  Lord 
had  called  his  faithful  servants.    During  the  year  1657, 
meetings  were  established  and  regularly  kept  up,  in  private 
houses,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Salem  and  of  Sandwich ; 
one  was  held  at  Providence,  and  another  on  Rhode  Island. 
On  Long  Island  there  were  many  individuals  convinced  of 


1658.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


125 


I  our  principles ;  and  as  far  south  as  Maryland,  there  were 
found  seals  of  the  efficacy  of  the  labors  of  these  indefati-^ 
gable  and  undaunted  publishers  of  the  glad  tidings  of  the 
Gospel. 

We  have  seen  that  some  part  of  the  West  Indies  had  been 
visited  by  Friends  in  1656.  The  hearts  of  many  inhabitants 
of  Barbadoes  had  been  in  measure  opened  to  comprehend 
the  spirituality  of  the  Gospel,  when  John  Bowran  was  drawn 
to  visit  them  in  the  year  1657.  This  friend  also,  passing 
over  to  the  South  American  continent,  visited  Surinam,  and 
travelled  along  the  coast  of  Guiana  for  several  hundred 
miles,  with  an  interpreter,  preaching  the  word  of  tlie  true 
God  to  the  Indian  natives. 

Early  in  the  year  1658,  Sarah  Gibbons  and  Dorothy 
Waugh  left  Khode  Island,  "  to  visit  the  seed  at  Salem."  It 
was  a  wilderness  journey  of  more  than  sixty  miles,  and  was 
performed  on  foot,  and  partly  through  a  great  storm  of 
snow.  Besides  this,  they  were  obliged  to  lodge  without 
shelter  in  the  woods.  But  the  Lord  their  Master  preserved 
them  through  all  dangers ;  and  after  laboring  in  the  gospel 
among  their  friends  at  Salem,  they  went  bound  in  the  Spirit 
to  Boston.  As  might  be  expected,  they  were  soon  arrested, 
confined  in  prison  about  a  week  without  food,  and  beaten 
with  a  three-corded  whip,  the  knots  of  which  cruelly  tore 
their  flesh.  About  the  time  that  they  were  released,  Horred 
Gardiner,  of  ISTewport,  the  mother  of  many  children,  believed 
it  her  duty  to  go  to  Weymouth,  a  town  within  the  Boston 
patent,  and  there  bear  a  testimony  for  the  truth.  Having 
a  young  infant,  and  travelling  on  foot,  she  took  with  her  a 
girl  named  Mary  Stanton,  to  assist  her  in  carrying  the  child. 
She  reached  the  place  in  safety,  and  her  message  found  a 
witness  to  its  truth  in  the  hearts  of  the  people ;  but  some  of 
the  baser  sort  caused  her  to  be  arrested,  and  carried  to 
Boston.  Here  she  was  abusively  examined  by  Governor 
Endicot,  and  committed  with  her  attendant  to  prison,  where 
11  * 


126 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OP 


[1658. 


they  each  received  a  severe  whipping  from  the  three-corded 
and  knotted  whip.  Her  poor  babe  was  at  her  breast  during 
the  execution,  protected  by  the  arms  of  a  mother's  love,  and 
unconscious  of  the  agony  which  that  mother  was  enduring. 
When  the  infliction  was  over,  she  knelt  down,  and  breathed 
forth  a  petition  that  her  persecutors  might  be  forgiven  of 
her  Father  in  Heaven,  for  they  knew  not  what  they  did. 
Struck  with  the  meek  and  forgiving  spirit  of  the  prisoner,  a 
woman  who  stood  by,  was  much  moved,  and  gave  "  glory  to 
the  Lord,"  saying,  "  Surely,  if  she  had  not  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord,  she  could  not  do  this."  They  were  detained  after  this, 
two  weeks,  in  prison,  during  which  time  none  of  their  friends 
were  allowed  to  visit  them. 

The  spirit  of  persecution  during  this  year  was  very  active, 
particularly  in  the  Plymouth  colony ;  and  many  instances 
were  afforded  of  patient  endurance  of  hard  suffering,  and  of 
undaunted  firmness  in  maintaining  the  cause  of  pure  spiritual 
religion,  w^iich  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  narrate.  Yet  we 
can  scarcely  pass  away  from  the  transactions  of  this  year 
without  briefly  relating  two  other  instances  of  wicked  cruelty, 
which  paved  the  way  for  the  dreadful  scene  of  the  succeeding 
year,  in  which  the  blood  of  martyrs  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  was  shed  by  the  rulers  of  Boston. 

In  the  fourth  month  of  this  year  (old  style),  Thomas 
Harris,  William  Brend,  and  William  Leddra,  the  first  and 
last  of  whom  had  landed  the  previous  year  at  Rhode  Island 
from  Barbadoes,  passed  towards  Massachusetts.  Thomas 
Harris  entered  Boston,  and  was  soon  committed  to  prison ; 
where  he  was  twice  severely  whipped,  and  was  kept  for  five 
days  without  any  nourishment,  until  food  was  secretly  con- 
veyed to  him  during  the  night,  through  the  window  of  his 
prison.  William  Brend  and  William  Leddra,  passing  on 
to  Salem,  were  gladly  received  by  Friends  there ;  but  after- 
wards w^ere  treacherously  seized  near  Newburyport,  and 
carried  before  the  court  then  sitting  at  the  former  place. 


1658.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


127 


Several  other  Friends  were  also  arrested  for  having  attended 
their  meetings ;  and  they  were  all  committed  on  the  second 
of  Fifth  month  to  Boston  prison.  William  Brend  and 
William  Leddra  were  put  into  a  room  which  had  the  window 
stopped,  so  as  almost  entirely  to  prevent  the  passage  of  air ; 
none  of  their  friends  were  allo^ved  access  to  them,  neither 
were  they  permitted  to  purchase  food.  The  keeper  some- 
times brought  a  little  pottage  and  a  piece  of  bread ;  but  as 
he  would  not  take  their  money,  and  said  they  should  not 
have  the  food  without  working  for  it,  they  were  not  free  to 
toucli  it.  They  thus  had  no  nourishment  for  several  days. 
On  the  fifth  of  the  month,  the  magistrates  directed  that  two 
of  the  prisoners,  Lawrence  and  Josiah  Southwick,  should  be 
reserved  to  lose  their  ears,  and  that  the  rest  should  be 
whipped.  In  pursuance  of  this  order  they  suffered;  even 
Cassandra  Southwick,  Josiah's  mother,  receiving  her  portion 
of  the  cruel  punishment.  They  were  then  detained  for  the 
fees,  which  they  were  not  at  liberty  with  a  clear  conscience 
to  pay.  The  next  day,  the  jailer  put  William  Brend  into 
irons  for  not  w  orking.  He  placed  a  fetter  on  each  leg,  and 
one  round  his  neck,  and  drawing  them  with  force  together, 
left  this  aged  man  locked  in  this  suffering  position  for  six- 
teen hours.  The  next  morning,  on  his  again  declining  to 
work,  the  jailer  took  a  piece  of  inch  rope^  and  beat  him  with 
all  his  strength,  till  after  striking  about  twenty  times,  the 
rope  began  to  untwist.  Dreadfully  mangled,  William  was 
taken  back  to  his  close  room ;  but  the  same  day  he  was 
again  brought  down-stairs^  and  being  commanded  to  labor, 
declined  as  before.  The  jailer  now  produced  a  much  stronger 
rope,  and  continued  to  beat  William  therewith  until  he  had 
given  ninety-one  blows,  and  his  own  strength  was  exhausted. 
The  poor  sufferer,  beside  that  his  back  was  beaten  till  it 
seemed  almost  like  a  jelly,  had  now  been  five  days  without 
food ;  and  shortly  after  the  keeper  left  him,  he  sunk  down 
and  seemed  to  be  dying.    The  rulers  became  alarmed,  for 


128 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1658. 


fear  they  should  be  charged  with  having  murdered  him,  and 
endeavored  by  all  means  to  revive  him.  The  governor  sent 
his  physician  to  him,  who  reported  that  his  recovery  was  not 
probable,  as  the  flesh  was  in  such  a  condition  that  it  would 
decay  from  the  bones.  The  populace  became  excited  at  the 
idea  of  murder  perpetrated  by  a  public  functionary,  and  the 
whole  town  was  in  commotion. 

Humphrey  Norton  and  John  Rouse  came  to  Boston  at 
this  time  from  Rhode  Island,  in  deep  sympathy  with  their 
suffering  brethren.  They  also  were  arrested,  whipped,  and 
shut  up  in  prison.  William  Brend  was  favored  to  recover 
rapidly.  But  several  of  his  companions  were  subjected  to  a 
new  order  of  the  magistrates ;  which  was,  that  if  they  still 
refused-  to  work,  they  should  be  regularly  whipped  twice  a 
week,  increasing  three  lashes  each  time,  till  they  should 
submit.  Having  all  of  them  been  whipped  but  a  short  time 
before,  the  old  wounds  w^ere  still  fresh,  and  opened  and  bled 
freely  at  the  renewed  application  of  the  lash.  The  people 
of  Boston  became  more  and  more  excited,  and  in  compassion 
for  them,  a  sum  of  money  was  raised  by  subscription,  where- 
with the  fines  were  paid,  and  all,  except  the  five  friends  from 
Salem,  were  sent  away  from  the  colony.  Two  of  the  latter 
were  soon  afterwards  released,  but  the  remaining  three  were 
detained  for  twenty  weeks. 

Christopher  Holder,  John  Rouse,  and  John  Copeland, 
being  again  imprisoned  at  Boston  in  the  ninth  month,  suf- 
fered the  cruel  punishment  of  having  their  right  ears  cut  off 
by  the  hangman,  and  were  afterwards  again  whipped. 


1659.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


129 


CHAPTER  XII. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    WILLIAM    ROBINSON,    MARMADUKE  STE- 
VENSON, MARY  DYER  AND  WILLIAM  LEDDRA  GEORGE 

FOX  IMPRISONED  IN  SCARBOROUGH  CASTLE. 

TTTE  now  approach  the  consummation  of  all  these  cmel- 


T  t  ties,  which  had  often  appeared  to  be  the  aim  of  the 
Boston  rulers,  even  the  taking  away  of  the  life  of  their  in- 
nocent victims.  In  the  Tenth  month  of  this  year,  they 
enacted  a  law  to  banish  all  Quakers  who  should  come 
among  them,  "  on  pain  of  death." 

In  the  Kinth  month  of  the  next  year,  (1659,)  AVilliam 
Robinson,  Marmaduke  Stevenson,  Mary  D3^er,  and  Nich- 
olas Davis,  who  were  prisoners  for  the  cause  of  a  good  con- 
science in  Boston  jail,  were  by  this  law  banished  from  the 
colony,  with  the  provision,  that  their  return  would  be  the 
forfeiture  of  their  lives.  The  two  former  left  the  town  of 
Boston,  but  did  not  feel  free  (although  at  so  great  a  peril) 
to  leave  the  jurisdiction,  until  they  should  have  a  clear  in- 
timation from  their  Divine  Master,  that  they  were  at  liberty 
to  depart.  They  therefore  went  to  Salem  and  the  neigh- 
borhood, endeavoring  to  build  up  their  friends  in  the  faith. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  they  were  arrested,  again 
imprisoned,  and  chained  by  their  legs.  The  next  month, 
Mary  Dyer  returned  also,  and  being  recognized,  was  like- 
wise taken  into  custody.  On  the  twentieth,  the  three  were 
brought  before  the  Governor  and  court,  and  desired  to  lis- 
ten to  their  sentence  of  death.  William  Robinson,  who  had 
prepared  a  paper,  setting  forth  his  reasons  for  not  having 
departed  from  the  jurisdiction,  now  asked  liberty  to  read  it. 
This  was  peremptorily  refused.  He  then  laid  it  on  the  table, 
containing  among  other  things,  a  declaration    that  he  had 


130 


HTSTOETCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1659. 


not  come  tliitlier  in  his  own  will,  but  in  obedience  to  his 
Creator — that  the  Lord  had  commanded  him  to  go  to  Bos- 
ton, and  there  to  lay  down  his  life, — that  he  had  felt  an 
assurance  that  his  soul  was  to  enter  eternal  peace  and 
rest — and  that  he  durst  not  disobey,  believing  that  it  be- 
came him  as  a  child,  to  show  obedience  to  the  Lord,  with- 
out any  unwillingness."  The  governor  read  the  letter  to 
himself,  but  would  not  suffer  it  to  be  read  aloud  in  the 
court,  and  presently  pronounced  the  sentence,  "  that  Wil- 
liam Robinson  should  be  had  back  to  the  prison  whence  he 
came,  and  thence  to  the  place  of  execution,  to  be  hanged 
on  the  galloAvs  till  he  should  be  dead."  The  same  sentence 
was  then  pronounced  against  Marmaduke  Stevenson  and 
Mary  Dyer ;  to  which  the  latter  replied,  "  The  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done."  The  governor  then  said,  "  Take  her  away, 
marshal ; "  to  which  she  returned,  "  Yea,  joyfully  I  go." 
In  going  back  to  the  prison,  she  uttered  frequent  praises  to 
the  Lord,  being  full  of  holy  joy  that  she  was  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  shame  for  His  name,  and  told  the  marshal,  he 
might  let  her  alone,  for  she  would  go  to  the  prison  without 
him.  To  which  he  replied,  "I  believe  you,  Mrs.  Dyer;  but 
I  must  do  what  I  am  commanded."  Marmaduke  also  gave 
forth  a  paper,  after  sentence  was  pronounced,  in  which  he 
clearly  stated  his  divine  call  into  that  colony,  and  that  it 
was  not  in  his  own  will,  but  in  the  will  of  God.  And 
Mary  Dyer,  from  her  prison,  addressed  the  court  in  writing, 
making  a  similar  declaration,  and  solemnly  warning  them 
that  if  they  put  to  death  any  of  these,  the  Lord's  servants, 
it  would  tend  to  their  own  destruction. 

They  remained  a  week  in  prison,  and  on  the  27th  of  the 
Tenth  month,  were  led  to  the  gallows  by  the  marshal,  at- 
tended by  a  band  of  about  two  hundred  armed  men,  be- 
sides many  horsemen.  The  envious  priest  Wilson,  also 
joined  the  company,  who,  when  the  court  was  deliberating 
how  to  deal  with  tlie  Quakers,  had  said,  "  Hang  them ;  or 


1659.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


131 


else  "  —  (drawing  his  finger  across  his  throat,  as  if  he  would 
have  said,)  "  Dispatch  them  tJiia  way."  As  they  proceeded 
to  the  place  of  execution,  the  drums  were  beaten,  especially 
when  any  of  them  attempted  to  speak.  Glorious  signs  of 
heavenly  joy  sat  upon  the  countenances  of  these  martyrs  for 
the  truth,  who  walked  hand  in  hand,  as  if  going  to  an  ever- 
lasting feast.  When  they  approached  the  gallows,  the 
priest  in  a  taunting  ^vay,  said  to  W.  Eobinson,  "  Shall  such 
jacks  as  you  come  in  before  authority  with  their  hats  on?" 
To  which  he  replied,  "  Mind  you,  it  is  for  not  putting  off 
the  hat,  we  are  put  to  death ! "  They  now  took  leave  of 
each  other  with  tender  embraces ;  and  W.  Eobinson  going 
cheerfully  up  the  ladder,  said  to  the  people,  many  of  whom 
were  doubtless  awfully  impressed  with  the  iniquitous  pro- 
ceeding, "  This  is  the  day  of  your  visitation,  wherein  the 
Lord  hath  visited  you :  this  is  the  day  the  Lord  is  risen  in 
his  mighty  powder,  to  be  avenged  on  all  his  adversaries." 
He  also  declared  that  he  suffered  not  as  an  evil-doer,  and 
desired  the  spectators  to  mind  the  Light  of  Christ  which 
was  in  them,  of  which  he  had  testified,  and  was  now  going 
to  seal  his  testimony  with  his  blood.  The  rope  being  put 
around  his  neck,  and  his  hands,  legs  and  face  being  bound, 
and  the  executioner  about  to  turn  him  off,  he  said,  "  I  suffer 
for  Christ,  in  whom  I  live,  and  for  w^hom  I  die."  He  was 
then  turned  off;  and  Marmaduke  stepping  up  the  ladder, 
said,  "  Be  it  known  unto  all,  this  day,  that  we  suffer  not  as 
evil-doers,  but  for  conscience'  sake."  And  adding,  "  This 
day  shall  we  be  at  rest  with  the  Lord ; "  he  too  was 
launched  into  the  eternal  world.  Mary  Dyer,  seeing  her 
companions  hanging  dead  before  her,  also  stepped  up  the 
ladder;  but  after  her  clothes  were  tied  about  her, the  halter 
adjusted  about  her  neck,  and  her  face  covered  with  a  hand- 
kercliief,  just  as  she  was  about  to  be  turned  off,  a  cry  was 
heard,  tliat  she  was  reprieved.  Her  son,  it  seems,  had  in- 
terceded for  her  life,  which  was  granted  at  the  last  minute. 


132 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1660. 


She  was  roughly  taken  down  from  the  ladder,  and  con- 
veyed back  to  prison ;  and  the  magistrates  perceiving  that 
the  people  began  to  be  much  discontented  at  the  violence 
of  their  proceedings,  resolved  to  send  her  away.  She  was 
accordingly  conveyed  towards  Khode  Island  on  horseback, 
guarded  by  four  men,  and  thus  returned  home.  She  is 
said  to  have  been  a  person  possessed  of  some  extraordinary 
mental  qualities,  of  a  comely  and  grave  countenance,  of  a 
good  family,  and  the  mother  of  several  children. 

The  bodies  of  the  two  Friends  who  suffered  death,  were 
barbarously  throAvn  into  a  hole,  without  any  covering ;  and 
when  some  of  their  friends  would  have  laid  them  in 
coffins,  this  was  denied  them ;  as  also  was  the  privilege  of 
fencing  the  place  around,  to  prevent  their  being  preyed 
upon  by  the  wild  beasts,  which  then  abounded  in  this  new 
country. 

Mary  Dyer,  in  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  (1660,)  found 
herself  constrained  once  more  to  return  to  Boston,  notwith- 
standing the  sufferings  which  she  knew  awaited  her.  She 
arrived  there  on  the  21st  of  the  Third  month,  and  ten  days 
afterwards  was  sent  for  before  the  governor  and  general 
court.  Being  questioned,  she  undauntedly  acknowledged 
herself  to  be  one  of  those  in  scorn  called  Quakers,  and  that 
she  was  the  same  person  who  had  been  there  at  the  last 
session  of  the  court.  She  was  told  that  the  sentence  passed 
upon  her  before  was  now  to  be  renewed,  and  that  she  must 
prepare  herself  to  die  the  following  morning.  To  which 
she  replied,  that  she  came  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God, 
to  desire  them  to  repeal  their  unrighteous  laws.  They 
would  not  hear  her  out,  but  cried,  "  away  with  her ;  away 
with  her ! "  and  sent  her  back  to  prison. 

Next  morning  the  marshal  came,  and  called  her  hastily 
to  come.  And  rudely  entering  the  room  where  she  was, 
she  desired  him  to  stay  a  little,  and  mildly  added,  that  she 
should  be  ready  presently.    But  }ie  roughly  replied  that 


1661.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


133 


he  could  not  wait  upon  her,  but  she  should  now  wait  upon 
him.  Margaret  Smith,  her  companion,  being  grieved  at 
such  unfeeling  behavior,  expressed  her  sense  of  the  injus- 
tice of  their  proceedings ;  to  which  he  threateningly  said, 
"  you  shall  have  your  share  of  the  same."  Mary  was  then 
led  through  the  town  with  a  band  of  soldiers,  the  drums 
being  beaten  before  and  behind  her,  to  prevent  her  from  be- 
ing heard  in  speaking  to  the  spectators.  Being  come  to  the 
gallows,  and  having  ascended  the  ladder,  she  was  told  that 
if  she  would  return  home,  she  might  yet  save  her  life.  To 
which  she  replied,  "  ^s'ay,  I  cannot ;  for  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  the  Lord  I  came,  and  in  His  will  I  abide  faithful  to 
the  death."  The  priest  cried  out  to  her  to  repent,  and  not 
to  be  so  deluded.  But  she  let  him  know  that  the  work  of 
repentance  was  not  then  to  be  entered  upon  by  her.  Sev- 
eral observations  of  a  like  nature  were  made  to  her,  and  in 
reply  she  spoke  of  the  heavenly  state  of  mind  which  had 
for  some  days  been  her  portion,  and  of  the  eternal  happi- 
ness into  which  she  was  now  about  to  enter.  She  was  then 
turned  off,  and  finished  her  course,  a  martyr  for  the  truth 
in  Christ. 

The  next  that  suffered  death  was  William  Leddra.  He 
had  already  been  banished  from  Boston  on  pain  of  death ; 
but  was  under  such  necessity  of  conscience,  that  he  could 
not  forbear  returning.  He  was  soon  arrested,  and  being 
fastened  to  a  log,  was  kept  night  and  day  locked  in  chains, 
in  an  open  prison,  during  a  very  cold  winter.  Early  in  the 
spring  of  1661,  he  was  brought  into  the  court,  with  his 
chains  on,  and  the  log  at  his  heels :  and  asking  the  jailer 
when  he  would  take  off  the  irons  from  his  legs,  he  unfeel- 
ingly replied,  that  it  should  be,  when  he  was  about  to  be 
hanged.  Being  brought  to  the  bar,  he  was  told  that  he 
was  to  die.  He  asked,  what  evil  he  had  done.  He  was 
told  that  he  had  owned  those  Quakers  w^ho  had  been  put 
to  death,  and  had  said  that  they  were  innocent ;  and  besides, 
12 


134 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1661. 


that  he  would  not  put  off  his  hat  in  court,  and  that  he 
said  thee  and  thou.  Then,  said  he,  "  You  will  put  me  to 
death  for  speaking  English,  and  for  not  putting  off  my 
clothes!"  To  this  Major-general  Denison  returned,  "A 
man  may  speak  treason  in  English."  William  Leddra 
inquired,  "  Is  it  then  treason  to  say  thee  and  thou  to  a  single 
person  ? "  No  one  answered ;  but  a  member  of  the  court 
asked  him,  whether  he  would  go  for  England  ?  To  which 
he  replied  that  he  had  no  business  there.  The  member  then, 
pointing  to  the  gallows,  said,  "  Then  you  shall  go  that  way ! " 
To  which  William  returned,  "What!  will  ye  put  me  to 
death  for  breathing  in  the  air  of  your  jurisdiction?  I 
appeal  to  the  laws  of  England,  and  if  by  them  I  am  guilty, 
I  refuse  not  to  die."  Of  this  no  notice  was  taken,  but  they 
endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  conform  to  their  wishes ;  to 
which  with  a  grave  magnanimity  he  answered,  "  What !  to 
join  with  such  murderers  as  you  are  ?  Then  let  every  man 
that  meets  me,  say,  lo !  this  is  the  man  that  hath  forsaken 
the  God  of  his  salvation."  He  was  again  assailed  by  the 
offer,  that  if  he  would  promise  to  depart  from  the  jurisdic- 
tion, and  to  come  there  no  more,  his  life  should  be  spared ; 
but  knowing  that  to  purchase  his  natural  life  by  making  a 
promise,  the  fulfilment  of  which  might  forfeit  his  duty  to 
his  Lord  and  Master,  would  bring  spiritual  death  to  his 
soul,  which  was  much  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  death 
of  the  body,  he  replied :  "  I  stand  not  in  my  own  will,  but 
in  the  will  of  the  Lord.  If  I  may  have  my  freedom  [from 
Him],  I  shall  go ;  but  to  make  you  a  promise,  I  cannot." 
He  was  accordingly  condemned  to  death,  and  was  led  back 
to  his  prison.  The  day  before  his  execution,  his  mind  was 
drawn  out  in  an  affectionate  farewell  address  to  his  beloved 
friends.  "  The  sweet  influences  of  the  morning  star,"  says 
lie,  "like  a  flood  distilling  into  my  innocent  habitation, 
have  so  filled  me  with  the  joy  of  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of 
holiness,  that  my  spirit  is  as  if  it  did  not  inhabit  a  taber- 


1661.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


135 


Qacle  of  clay,  but  is  wholly  swallowed  up  in  the  bosom  of 
eternity,  from  whence  it  had  its  being."  "  Oh,  my  beloved," 
he  afterwards  adds,  "  I  have  waited  as  a  dove  at  the  win- 
dows of  the  ark, — and  my  heart  did  rejoice,  that  I  might 
in  the  love  and  life  of  God,  speak  a  few  words  to  you,  sealed 
with  the  spirit  of  promise,  that  the  taste  thereof  might  be  a 
savor  of  life  to  your  life,  and  a  testimony  in  you  of  my 
innocent  death."  "  Therefore,  my  dear  friends,  let  the  en- 
joyment of  the  life  alone  be  your  hope,  your  joy  and  conso- 
lation— let  the  man  of  God  flee  those  things  that  would 
lead  the  mind  out  of  the  cross — stand  in  the  watch  withiii, 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  which  is  the  very  entrance  of  wis- 
dom—  stand  still,  and  cease  from  thy  own  working — con- 
fess Him  before  men,  yea,  before  his  greatest  enemies — fear 
not  what  they  can  do  unto  you.  Greater  is  He  that  is  in 
you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world.  He  will  clothe  you  with 
humility,  and  in  the  power  of  his  meekness  you  shall  reign 
over  all  the  rage  of  your  enemies,  in  the  favor  of  God ; 
wherein,  as  you  stand  in  faith,  ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth ; 
for  many  seeing  your  good  works,  may  glorify  God  in  the 
day  of  their  visitation. 

"  Bring  all  things  to  the  Light,  that  they  may  be  proved, 
whether  they  be  wrought  in  God.  The  love  of  the  world, 
the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eye,  are  without 
the  light  —  therefore  possess  your  vessels  in  all  sanctifica- 
tion  and  honor,  and  let  your  eye  look  at  the  mark.*' 

Thus  did  he  encourage  them  to  faithfulness,  and  concluded 
by  commending  them  to  that  grace  which  himself  had 
experienced,  and  by  which  they  also  might  attain  to  salva- 
tion. What  must  have  been  the  emotions  with  which  those 
words  of  exhortation  were  received,  penned  as  they  were  on 
the  eve  of  suffering  martyrdom  for  that  faith  which  he  so 
earnestly  pressed  upon  his  friends. 

The  next  day,  being  the  14th  of  the  First  month,  (old 
style,)  1661,  the  awful  sentence  was  executed.    After  the 


136 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


lecture,  (solemn  farce  as  it  was !)  Governor  Endicot  came 
with  a  guard  of  soldiers  to  the  prison.  William  Leddra's 
irons  by  which  he  had  been  chained  to  a  log,  night  and 
day,  during  a  cold  winter,  were  knocked  off,  and  he  was 
conducted  to  the  gallows,  where  he  was  pinioned ;  and  as 
he  was  about  to  ascend  the  ladder,  he  took  leave  of  a  friend 
who  was  then  under  sentence  of  banishment,  saying,  "  all 
that  will  be  Christ's  disciples  must  take  up  the  cross."  On 
the  ladder  he  said  to  the  people,  "  For  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  and  for  testifying  against  deceivers,  and  the  deceived, 
I  am  brought  here  to  suffer ;"  and  continuing  cheerful,  as 
the  hangman  w^as  putting  the  halter  round  his  neck,  he  was 
heard  to  say,  "  I  commit  my  righteous  cause  unto  thee,  O 
God!"  And  adding  "Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit,"  he 
was  turned  off,  and  finished  his  days  on  earth,  to  receive 
that  "  crown  of  life "  which  is  given  to  those  who  are 
"  faithful  unto  death." 

The  persecutors  had  also  in  confinement  Wenlock  Chris- 
tison,  on  the  same  account,  whom  likewise  after  much  dis- 
sension among  themselves,  the  governor  condemned  to  death. 
But  from  some  cause  which  did  not  appear,  he  was  with 
twenty-seven  more  of  his  friends,  suddenly  set  at  liberty. 
And  now  we  may  turn  from  these  scenes  of  blood,  from 
which  the  heart  recoils,  and  see  what  was  taking  place  in 
other  parts  of  the  Society. 

In  the  year  1662,  George  Fox  and  Richard  Hubberthorn 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  king,  setting  forth  the  affecting 
facts,  that  during  the  protectorate  of  the  two  Cromwells, 
three  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  of  their 
friends  had  been  imprisoned  for  conscience'  sake,  and  for 
bearing  a  testimony  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus — that 
there  still  lay  in  prison  seventy-three  individuals,  committed 
under  the  power  of  the  Commonwealth — that  thirty-two 
during  the  protectorate  died  in  confinement,  through  cruel 
and  hard  imprisonments,  upon  nasty  straw  and  in  dun- 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


137 


geons  —  and  that  during  the  two  years  since  the  king's 
restoration,  three  thousand  and  sixty-eight  had  been  im- 
prisoned on  the  like  account ;  and  their  meetings  were  still 
broken  up  by  violent  men,  and  Friends  were  cruelly  thrown 
into  waters,  or  trodden  down  till  the  blood  gushed  from 
them  —  the  number  of  which  abuses,  they  said,  could 
hardly  be  uttered.  They  therefore  besought  the  king  to 
consider  their  innocence,  and  put  a  stop  to  these  grievous 
sufferings.  But  the  next  year,  George  himself  was  impris- 
oned at  Lancaster;  whence  being  removed  in  1665  to  Scar- 
borough castle,  he  suffered  much  from  exposure  to  cold  and 
wet  in  a  miserable  room,  open  to  the  weather,  and  was  not 
released  until  1666,  by  appealing  to  the  king,  on  the  injus- 
tice of  his  case.  The  room  in  which  he  was  first  immured 
had  no  proper  defence  from  the  rain,  nor  exit  for  the  smoke ; 
and  when  George  had  spent  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in 
rendering  it  more  comfortable,  they  speedily  removed  him 
into  another  room,  overlooking  the  sea,  and  so  open  to  the 
weather,  that  the  wind  drove  the  rain  in  forcibly,  and  the 
water  came  over  his  bed  and  ran  about  the  room,  to  such  a 
degree  that  he  had  to  lade  it  up  with  a  plate.  There  was 
in  this  room  neither  chimney  nor  fireplace.  When  his 
clothes  were  wet,  he  had  no  fire  by  which  to  dry  them,  and 
by  this  damp,  and  the  cold  weather,  he  became  much  dis- 
eased. They  would  frequently  prevent  his  friends  from 
bringing  him  food ;  so  that  he  had  to  hire  a  soldier  to  bring 
him  bread  and  water;  a  three-penny  loaf  of  bread  com- 
monly served  him  three  weeks,  and  sometimes  longer ;  and 
his  drink  was  mostly  water,  with  wormw^ood  bruised  and 
steeped  in  it.  One  time  when  the  weather  was  very  sharp, 
and  he  had  taken  a  great  cold,  he  procured  a  little  elecam- 
pane beer;  but  the  soldiers  contrived  to  have  him  sent  for 
to  the  deputy-governor,  and  in  his  absence  stole  his 
beverage. 

During  the  early  part  of  this  imprisonment,  while  in 


188 


HISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


Lancaster  jail,  he  had  a  sense  of  the  sufferings  of  his  friends 
in  New  England,  as  above  related,  and  likewise  of  the 
approach  of  that  awful  scourge,  permitted  by  the  Almighty 
to  come  upon  a  guilty  people,  in  the  memorable  fire  of  Lon- 
don, by  which  a  great  part  of  that  city  was  destroyed,  com- 
mencing the  next  day  after  his  release  from  Scarborough 
castle. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  CONVINCEMENT  OF  RICHARD  DA  VIES. 

ABOUT  the  year  1657,  Richard  Davies,  a  Welchman, 
who  had  been  educated  in  the  Episcopal  society,  but 
had  joined  the  Independents,  became  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  the  principles  held  by  the  people  called  Quakers,  and 
united  himself  in  fellowship  with  them.  As  he  was  one  of 
the  first  witnesses  for  these  principles  raised  up  in  Wales,  so 
he  also  became  in  after-time,  one  of  the  most  valiant  and 
useful  instruments  in  the  Lord's  hand,  in  gathering  and 
confirming  that  people  in  his  own  country,  even  through  hot 
persecution.  His  simple  narrative  of  his  convincement, 
gives  so  clear  a  statement  of  the  ground  on  which  he 
embraced  these  principles,  and  of  the  gradual  but  steady 
development  of  Christian  truth  in  his  mind,  through  the 
successive  manifestations  of  the  Divine  Light,  inwardly 
received,  cherished  and  obeyed,  that  we  may  do  well  to 
pursue  it  in  some  of  his  own  words,  as  an  example,  out  of 
many  thousand  similar  instances,  of  the  way  and  work  of 
the  Lord. 

"About  the  year  1656,"  says  he,  "our  ministers  told  us, 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


139 


that  there  was  a  sort  of  people  come  up  in  the  north,  called 
Quakers,  that  were  a  people  of  strange  posture  and  princi- 
ples. They  were  represented  to  us  to  be  such  a  dangerous 
sort  of  people,  that  we  were  afraid  of  any  who  had  the  name 
of  Quakers,  lest  we  should  be  deceived  by  them.  Hitherto 
they  had  not  been  in  these  parts,  neither  did  we  know  what 
were  the  principles  held  out  by  themselves ;  but  only  such 
as  were  reported  to  us,  though  falsely,  by  our  preachers  and 
others ;  which  kept  us  in  blindness,  and  from  making  further 
inquiry,  from  trying  all  things,  and  holding  fast  that  which 
is  good. 

"About  the  year  1657,"  —  Richard  Davies  being  then 
about  twenty-two  years  of  age, — he  continues :  "  there  came 
a  poor  man,  in  a  mean  habit,  to  my  master's  house,  named 
Morgan  Evan,  of  South  AVales  :  he  had  met  with  the  people 
called  Quakers  in  his  travels,  and  was  convinced  of  the 
truth.  This  poor  man  discoursed  with  my  master  about  the 
principles  of  truth,  and  I  being  in  the  shop  about  my  calling, 
my  mistress  came  to  me,  and  said,  '  Why  do  you  not  go  out 
to  help  your  master  ?  for  there  is  a  Quaker  at  the  door,  that 
hath  put  him  to  silence.'  I  hearing  this,  made  haste,  and 
took  my  Bible  under  my  arm,  and  put  on  what  courage  I 
could,  to  dispute  with  that  poor  man ;  but  he  proved  too 
hard  for  us  all.  When  I  went  to  them,  they  were  upon  the 
words  thee  and  thou.  I  very  peremptorily  asked  him,  what 
command  he  had  to  speak  thee  and  thou.  I  acknowledged 
to  him  it  was  the  language  of  God  to  Adam,  and  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture ;  '  but,'  said  I,  *  that  is  not  enough  for  us 
now  in  this  day ;  we  must  have  a  command  for  it.'  To 
which  he  answered,  'Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words, 
which  thou  hast  heard  of  me.'  I  told  him,  we  heard  the 
Quakers  denied  the  Scripture,  and  would  not  read  them. 
He  said,  there  were  many  false  reports  of  them.  And  trulv, 
when  he  quoted  the  Scripture  so  readily,  I  concluded  that 
what  was  reported  of  them  was  not  true ;  and  he  saw  that 


140 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


he  had  reached  to  the  witness  of  God  in  me.  Then  he 
exhorted  me  to  take  heed  to  that  light  which  shined  in  my 
heart,  and  showed  my  vain  thoughts,  and  reproved  me  in 
secret  for  every  idle  word  and  action ;  saying,  that  was  the 
true  Light,  Avhich  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world ;  and  in  that  light,  I  should  see  more  light,  and  that 
would  open  the  Scriptures  to  me,  and  I  should  receive  a 
measure  of  the  same  spirit  which  gave  them  forth.  And 
further,  he  told  me,  it  was  the  more  sure  word  of  prophecy, 
unto  which  I  did  w^ell  to  take  heed,  "  as  unto  a  light  that 
shineth  in  a  dark  place  until  the  day  dawn  and  the  day-star 
arise  in  the  heart."  And  he  spoke  much  of  the  inward  work 
and  operation  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  on  the  soul ;  recommend- 
ing me  to  the  grace  of  God,  that  bringeth  salvation,  '  teach- 
ing us,  that  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world.' 
And  so  he  departed,  and  I  set  him  along  on  his  way. 

"  The  consideration  of  his  words  took  fast  hold  on  me,  that 
I  could  not  go  from  under  them ;  and  the  more  I  waited  in 
that  light  to  which  he  recommended  me,  the  more  my  former 
peace,  and  that  in  which  I  formerly  took  comfort,  was 
broken.  Herein  I  came  to  see  that  our  former  building 
could  not  stand,  for  we  built  upon  that  which  the  apostle 
called  '  wood,  hay,  and  stubble.'  Thus  I  came  to  a  loss  of 
all  my  former  knowledge,  and  my  former  performances 
proved  but  a  sandy  foundation.  Then  I  did,  with  much 
humility  and  poverty  of  spirit,  beg  of  Almighty  God,  that  I 
might  build  upon  that  Kock  wdiich  the  true  church  of  Christ 
was  built  upon,  that  the  gates  of  hell  might  not  prevail 
against  me. 

"  I  was  made  willing  to  lay  hold  on  the  precious  promises 
of  Holy  Scrij^ture,  mid  waited  for  the  fulfilling  of  them  in 
myself,  and  of  that  which  Christ  said  to  the  Jews,  *It  is 
written  in  the  prophets.  And  they  shall  be  all  taught  of 
God.  Every  man  therefore  that  hath  heard,  and  hath 
learned  of  the  Father,  cometh  unto  me.' 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


"  When  I  came  to  know  a  little  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Lord,  I  took  my  leave  of  all  my  former  formal  teachers,  and 
many  times  went  into  the  woods  and  other  by-places,  where 
none  might  see  me,  to  wait  upon  the  Lord ;  where  I  was 
much  broken  and  tendered  by  the  power  of  God.  And 
though  I  began  to  see  a  little  of  myself,  and  something  of 
the  goodness  of  God,  still  I  was  afraid  of  being  deceived ; 
for  I  had  read  that  '  Satan  himself  is  transformed  into  an 
angel  of  light.'  I  desired  of  the  Lord  that  I  might  see  this 
poor  man  once  again ;  for  I  knew  not  where  to  see  the  face 
of  any  called  a  Friend.  And  it  j^leased  God  that  he  came 
again  that  way.  Then  I  queried  of  him  their  way  of 
worship,  and  concerning  those  two  great  ordinances,  so 
called,  that  we  so  much  relied  upon,  namely,  the  bread  and 
wine,  and  baptism ;  and  respecting  the  Scriptures,  to  know 
what  was  their  judgment  of  them;  —  to  which  he  gave  me 
some  satisfaction.  In  the  morning  I  parted  with  him,  and 
to  my  knowledge  I  saw  him  no  more  for  several  years. 

"  In  all  this  time  I  still  kept  my  retirement  in  the  woods, 
or  some  other  private  place;  and  there  waiting,  I  desired 
of  the  Lord,  that  I  might  be  farther  satisfied  by  himself  as 
to  those  things  :  first,  "Whether  the  Scriptures  were  the  Word 
of  God,  as  was  said  and  preached  unto  us  they  were,  and  the 
way  to  life  and  salvation.  Then  the  first  chapter  of  John 
came  under  my  serious  consideration.  ['  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word ;  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God/  &c.]  I,  with  many  more,  was  under  that  mistake 
the  Jews  were,  who  thought  they  might  have  eternal  life  in 
the  Scriptures ;  whereas  Christ  saith,  '  Search,'  or,  *  ye  search 
the  Scriptures ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life : 
and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me.  And  ye  will  not 
come  unto  ME,  that  ye  might  have  life.' — As  He  is  the  life, 
so  he  is  the  way  to  the  Father  :  '  I  am  the  way,  the  triith, 
and  the  life :  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me.' 
As  for  the  Scriptures,  I  was  a  great  lover  and  a  great  reader 


142 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


of  them,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  searching  them,  thinking 
that  would  make  me  wise  unto  salvation.  Paul  said  to 
Timothy,  *And  that  from  a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation, 
through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.''  —  This  main  thing 
was  wanting  in  me,  the  true  and  saving  faith,  which  *  is  the 
gift  of  God.'  '  For  by  grace  ye  are  saved,  through  faith, 
and  that  not  of  yourselves :  it  is  the  gift  of  God.'  So  it  is 
the  grace  of  God  that  brings  salvation,  and  not  the  bare 
historical  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  Men  may  have  a 
great  literal  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  yet  remain  in 
error,  because  they  know  them  not  as  they  ought  to  do,  nor 
the  power  that  was  in  the  holy  men  that  gave  them  forth  : 
as  Christ  said  to  the  Jews,  *  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the 
Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God.'  That  which  gives  the 
true  knowledge  of  God,  and  a  right  understanding  of  the 
Scriptures,  is  therefore  the  power  of  God.  *  For,'  says  the 
apostle,  '  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.' 
And  as  men  and  women  come  to  mind  this  light,  that  is,  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  to  obey  it,  they  shall  come  to  the  comfort 
of  the  Scriptures,  of  which  the  same  apostle  speaks :  *  What- 
soever things  were  written  aforetime  were  written  for  our 
learning;  that  we,  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the 
Scriptures,  might  have  hope.' 

"And  being  under  a  serious  consideration  of  what  I  read 
in  the  sacred  writings,  I  believed  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  to 
be  the  interpreter  thereof  Those  great  mysteries  that  were 
hid  from  ages  and  generations,  and  are  hid  now  in  this  our 
age  from  many,  are  come  to  be  revealed  by  the  Spirit  of 
God.  And  though  formerly  I  read  the  Scriptures  as  too 
many  do,  without  a  true  sense  and  due  consideration,  yet 
now,  I  can  bless  God  for  them,  and  have  great  comfort  in 
the  reading  of  them ;  they  being  no  more  as  a  sealed  book 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


143 


to  rae,  and  many  more,  who  wait  for  the  assistance  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  in  all  their  duties  and  performances :  for  with- 
out Him  we  know  that  we  can  do  nothing  that  is  pleasing 
unto  him.  Formerly  we  ran  in  our  own  time  and  wills  to 
preach  and  pray,  not  having  a  due  regard  to  the  leading  and 
moving  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord :  but  many  times,  when  I 
arose  from  my  knees  in  a  formal  way  of  prayer,  the  reproof 
was  very  near  me,  '  Who  required  this  at  thy  hands  ?  It  is 
sparks  of  thy  oAvn  kindling.'  I  was  afraid  that  I  should  lie 
down  in  sorrow,  as  was  said  to  some  by  the  Lord.    Isaiah  i.  11. 

"  I  had  much  reasoning  in  my  mind  concerning  water 
baptism,  and  the  bread  and  wine.  And  when  I  was  satisfied 
as  to  those  weighty  concerns,  I  thought  I  might  rest  there, 
and  keep  my  old  customs,  and  fashions,  and  language.  But 
that  would  not  do ;  I  had  no  peace  therein.  God  showed 
me  the  vain  customs  of  the  nation,  and  that  our  language 
was  not  according  to  the  language  of  God's  people,  recorded 
in  the  Scriptures  of  Truth.  And  withal  I  knew  a  little 
grammar,  and  how  it  was  improper  to  say  vos  (you)  to  a 
single  person,  instead  of  tu  (thou).  I  also  believed  that  the 
Lord  would  return  to  his  people  '  a  pure  language,'  as  was 
promised  in  the  days  of  old.  Zeph.  iii.  9.  Thus  I  was  con- 
scientiously concerned  to  speak  the  'pure  language'  of  thee 
and  thou  to  every  one,  without  respect  of  persons ;  which  was 
a  great  cross  to  me.  Though  it  seems  to  some  but  as  a  weak 
and  foolish  thing,  yet  when  the  Lord  lays  the  necessity  of 
speaking  the  truth  to  all,  in  the  language  that  God  and  all 
his  servants  used,  it  comes  to  be  of  greater  weight  than  many 
light  airy  people  think  it  is.  This  necessity  being  laid  upon 
me,  I  spoke  to  my  master  in  that  dialect.  He  was  not 
offended  at  it,  because  he  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  it, 
and  that  it  ought  to  be  spoken  to  every  one.  But  when  I 
gave  it  to  my  mistress,  she  took  a  stick,  and  gave  me  such  a 
blow  on  my  bare  head,  that  made  it  swell  and  sore  for  a 
considerable  time.    She  swore  she  would  kill  me,  though  she 


144 


HISTORICAL    MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


should  be  hanged  for  it ;  though  before  that  time,  she  seldom, 
if  ever,  gave  me  an  angry  word.  But  I  considered  that, 
*  that  which  w^as  born  after  the  flesh  persecuted  him  that  was 
born  after  the  Spirit.' 

"The  Almighty  put  it  into  my  heart  to  consider  the  cost, 
and  that  through  tribulation  I  was  to  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven ;  and  I  was  faithful  in  this  testimony  that  I  had 
to  bear.  I  was  much  encouraged  to  go  on  in  that  strait  and 
narrow  way,  that  God  showed  me  I  was  to  walk  in ;  con- 
sidering the  saying :  '  Whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  cross, 
and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple.' — And  my  prayers 
unto  Him  were,  that  He  would  enable  me  to  go  through  all 
things  that  He  required  of  me. 

"  I  was  now  first  called  a  Quaker,  because  I  said  to  a 
single  person  thee  and  tliou,  and  kept  on  my  hat,  and  did 
not  go  after  the  customs  and  fashions  of  the  world,  that  other 
professors  lived  and  walked  in.  Though  some  of  these  would 
complain  of  their  own  formalities,  and  were  weary  of  the 
fashions  of  the  world,  yet  they  did  not  take  up  their  cross 
and  leave  them.  In  thus  doing  I  had  great  comfort  from 
the  Lord,  and  did  receive  from  Him  living  satisfaction,  and 
encouragement  to  go  on  in  my  way. — The  Lord  kept  me, 
and  his  people,  very  meek  and  low  in  our  minds,  in  a  self- 
denying  spirit.  We  waited  for  the  living  Word,  that  came 
with  a  living  voice  from  Him  that  speaks  from  heaven  to 
us  by  His  Spirit ;  and  the  living  voice  is  the  voice  of '  Christ 
in  us,  the  hope  of  glory ; '  which  voice  we  esteemed  more 
than  our  necessary  food.  For  obeying  this  voice,  we  came 
to  be  mocked  and  derided  ;  and  they  spoke  all  manner  of 
evil  against  us,  and  hated  us  for  His  name's  sake. — These 
and  the  like  afflictions  I  was  to  meet  with,  if  I  truly  and 
faithfully  followed  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  therefore  I  labored 
to  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  light,  that  I  might  be  able  to 
withstand  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one. 

"  The  rage  of  my  mistress  was  not  yet  abated,  though  she 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKIENDS. 


1-io 


had  nothing  against  me  but  my  not  conforming  to  the  cor- 
rupt language  and  vain  customs  of  the  world ;  for  I  labored 
to  keep  a  conscience  void  of  offence  both  towards  God  and 
man.  One  time,,  when  she.  thought  it  a  fit  opportunity  to 
execute  her  cruelty,  she  fell  into  a  great  rage ;  and  I  was 
freely  given  up  to  die  that  hour  by  her ;  but  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  accept  of  my  free-will  offering.  He  appeared  for 
my  deliverance,  and  made  her  more  moderate  the  rest  of  my 
servitude.  And  after  I  went  away,  the  Lord  visited  her 
with  a  sharp  fit  of  sickness  ;  in  which  time  she  said  that  she 
thought  she  should  not  die  till  she  had  asked  me  forgive- 
ness, desiring  them  to  send  for  me,  even  if  it  were  from 
London.  And  so  they  did.  I  could  freely  forgive  her,  for 
that  I  had  done  long  since ;  and  I  prayed  to  my  Heavenly 
Father  that  he  might  forgive  her  also.  It  pleased  God  to 
touch  her  with  a  sense  of  his  love,  and  lengthen  her  days ; 
she  confessing  often  the  wrong  she  had  done  to  an  honest 
careful  young  man,  as  she  said  I  had  been,  who  had  minded 
her  husband's  inward  and  outward  good,  more  than  they 
themselves  did. 

"About  this  time  (1657)  it  was  the  talk  of  the  country, 
that  I  had  become  a  Quaker.  My  parents  were  much  con- 
cerned about  me.  I  had  not  been  yet  with  them,  but 
waited  for  clearness  in  myself,  and  then  I  went  to  see  them. 
It  was  a  trouble  to  them  to  see  that  I  did  not,  as  formerly, 
go  down  upon  my  knees  to  ask  their  blessing,  and  bow  to 
them,  and  take  off  my  hat.  My  father  soon  turned  his 
back  upon  me.  I  had  heard  of  his  displeasure,  and  of  his 
having  said  he  would  leave  me  nothing — that  they  thought 
to  have  had  comfort  of  me,  but  now  expected  none,  but  that 
I  would  go  up  and  down  the  country,  crying,  Repent !  Re- 
pent!—  I  remembered  David's  condition,  when  he  said, 
'Thou  hast  been  my  help;  leave  me  not,  neither  forsak(3 
me,  O  God  of  my  salvation.  When  my  father  and  my 
mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up.  Teach 
13 


146 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


me  thy  way,  O  Lord,  and  lead  me  in  a  plain  path,  because 
of  mine  enemies.' 

"At  length  my  mother  came  tenderly  to  me — and  when 
I  discoursed  with  her  out  of  the  Scriptures,  her  heart  was 
much  affected  with  the  goodness  of  God  towards  me.  She 
went  for  my  father,  and  said  to  him,  *  Be  of  good  comfort ; 
our  son  is  not  as  was  reported  of  him ;  we  hope  to  have 
comfort  of  him  yet.' 

"A  little  after  this,  I  came  to  hear  that  some  of  the  people 
called  Quakers  were  at  Shrewsbury,  distant  from  my  abode 
about  eighteen  miles.  I  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  go  to 
see  them,  and  the  way  of  their  worship,  for  as  yet  I  had  not 
seen  any  of  them,  but  that  one  poor  man  before  mentioned. 
I  went  first  to  the  house  of  John  Millington,  where  many 
Friends  resorted,  and  they  of  the  town  came  to  see  me  in 
great  love  and  tenderness,  and  much  brokenness  of  heart 
was  among  us,  though  but  few  words.  We  waited  to  feel 
the  Lord  among  us,  in  all  our  comings  together.  When 
the  first  day  of  the  week  came,  we  went  to  a  meeting  at 
William  Pane's ;  and  though  it  was  silent  as  to  words,  yet 
the  Word  of  the  Lord  was  among  us.  It  was  as  a  hammer 
and  a  fire — it  was  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword — it 
pierced  through  our  inward  parts — it  melted  and  brought 
us  into  tears,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  dry  eye  among  us. 
The  Lord's  blessed  power  overshadowed  our  meeting,  and 
I  could  have  said,  that  God  alone  was  Master  of  that  assem- 
bly. The  next  day,  we  heard  that  John  ap  John  was  to 
have  a  meeting  there.  I  stayed  to  that  meeting ;  where  I 
heard,  for  the  first  time,  one  called  a  Quaker  preach  in  a 
meeting.  And  when  I  heard  him,  I  thought  he  spoke  as 
one  having  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes,  his  words 
Avere  so  sound  and  piercing. 

"  I  came  home ;  where  I  was  under  many  considerations, 
and  especially  that  of  Christ's  words,  '  Ye  are  the  light  of 
the  world.    Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


147 


may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  v.liich  is 
in  heaven.'  And  afterwards  the  Lord  required  of  me  to 
go  and  give  my  testimony  for  Him,  and  to  warn  a  com- 
pany of  people  to  think  of  their  Latter  end,  who  were  met 
to  dance  and  to  play,  not  far  from  my  master's  house. 
When  I  came  within  the  room  where  they  were  dancing, 
the  fiddler  ceased  playing,  and  they  dancing;  and  I  de- 
clared the  word  of  the  Lord  among  them.  That  which 
was  chiefly  before  me  was  that  of  Job  xxi.  11,  13.  'They 
send  forth  their  little  ones  like  a  flock,  and  their  children 
dance.  They  take  the  timbrel  and  harp,  and  rejoice  at  the 
sound  of  the  organ.  They  spend  their  days  in  mirth,  and 
in  a  moment  go  down  to  the  grave.'  When  I  had  dis- 
charged myself  of  what  lay  upon  me,  I  parted  from  them 
in  love  and  peace.  They  thanked  me  for  my  good  exhorta- 
tion, and  some  of  them  came  to  set  me  home. 

"After  this,  I  still  waited  to  know  the  will  and  counsel 
of  God,  and  that  he  might  direct  me  in  my  way,  and  order 
my  steps  in  this  my  spiritual  travel.  For  I  had  none  to 
look  unto  but  Him  alone,  who  was  all-sufficient  to  carry  on 
the  work  which  He  had  begun,  though  often  by  weak,  poor, 
mean,  and  contemptible  instruments  in  the  eye  of  the  world. 
Well  might  I  say  with  the  apostle,  '  But  God  hath  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise ;  and 
God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found the  things  which  are  mighty ;  and  base  things  of  the 
world,  and  things  which  are  despised,  hath  God  chosen, 
yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  naught  things 
that  are.' 

"About  this  time  I  went  to  visit  some  young  men,  my 
former  companions  in  profession  of  religion.  Two  of  them 
were  convinced,  and  received  the  Truth.  When  we  were 
come  to  the  number  of  four,  it  was  with  me,  that  we  ought 
to  meet  together  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  for  I  remem- 
bered the  promise  of  Christ,  who  said,  *  Where  two  or  three 


148 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them.'  So  we  all  agreed  to  meet  together ;  but  none  of 
us  had  a  house  of  his  own  to  meet  in.  We  determined 
therefore  to  meet  on  a  hill  in  a  common,  as  near  as  we 
could  for  the  convenience  of  each  other,  we  living  some 
miles  apart.  There  we  met  in  silence,  to  the  wonder  of  the 
country.  When  the  rain  and  weather  beat  upon  us  on  one 
side  of  the  hill,  we  went  to  the  other  side.  We  were  not 
free  to  go  into  any  neighbors'  enclosures,  for  they  were  so 
blind,  dax-k,  and  ignorant,  that  they  looked  upon  us  as 
witches,  and  would  go  away  from  us,  some  crossing  them- 
selves with  their  hands  about  their  foreheads  and  faces. 

"  Thus  we  continued  for  some  time,  till  two  of  them  left 
me  [to  live  elsewhere].  The  third  was  William  Davies: 
and  we  met  together  for  some  time ;  but  one  time  he  stayed 
[away]  longer  than  usual,  and  a  dark  spirit  possessed  him, 
so  that  the  little  time  we  were  together  was  not  comfortable 
to  me ;  and  when  Ave  had  broken  up  the  meeting,  he  asked 
me,  '  How  I  did  think  we  should  stand,  in  the  face  of  the 
whole  country?'  I  answered  him  with  great  zeal,  'The 
serpent,  the  serpe^it,  the  same  that  beguiled  the  woman  in 
Paradise,  hath  beguiled  thee;  —  thou  wilt  not  be  able  to 
stand.'  And  while  we  were  yet  discoursing,  I  saw  my 
master  coming;  two  women  followed  him,  the  one  being 
his  wife,  my  cruel  mistress,  the  other  his  sister.  They  both 
had  staves  in  their  hands,  and  when  they  came  to  us,  my 
mistress  began  beating  William  Davies.  So  his  trial  came 
very  quickly,  and  he  came  no  more  to  meet  with  me,  nor 
any  other  Friends  for  many  years.  It  so  happened  that  I 
had  not  a  blow  among  them. 

"  These  young  men  going  away  thus,  I  was  left  alone 
again,  but  still  I  kept  waiting  upon  the  Lord,  to  know  his 
will  concerning  me.  And  when  the  time  of  my  apprentice- 
ship was  over,  I  found  freedom  to  go  to  London ;  and  find- 
ing many  Friends  there,  I  settled  to  my  trade ;  and  well 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


149 


satisfied  I  was  that  I  could  go  to  meetings  and  follow  my 
business.  When  any  thing  would  come  into  my  mind  of 
this  my  native  country  [Wales],  barren  and  uninhabited 
with  Friends  and  Truth,  I  endeavored  to  shut  it  out,  and  to 
keep  where  I  was.  But  all  my  fair  pretences  and  reason- 
ings w^ould  not  do.  Disobedient  to  the  Lord  I  was,  and 
trouble  and  sorrow  and  judgment  from  the  Lord  came  upon 
me,  for  not  obeying  his  command,  to  go  to  my  own  country, 
and  stand  a  witness  for  Him  there.  In  this  my  disobedience 
I  continued,  till  I  lost  His  presence,  and  He  smote  me  with 
trouble  within,  and  pain  in  my  bones,  that  I  could  not 
work.  JNIy  pain  of  body  and  spirit  increased,  till  at  last  I 
was  forced  to  bow  to  the  will  of  the  Great  God,  who  was 
too  strong  for  me.  And  reasoning  with  Him  one  night  upon 
the  bed  of  my  sorrows,  he  showed  me  clearly,  that  I  was  to 
go  to  my  own  country.  And  I  was  made  willing  to  go,  if 
He  would  be  pleased  to  let  me  know  his  will  and  pleasure 
by  this  token,  that  He  would  remove  my  pain.  I  also  rea- 
soned with  Him  thus :  that  I  was  alone,  like  a  pelican  in 
the  wilderness,  or  a  sparrow  on  the  house-top.  The  Lord 
still  commanded  me  to  go,  showing  that  He  would  provide  a 
help-meet  for  me.  And  when  I  had  made  a  covenant  with 
the  Lord  to  go,  immediately  my  pai?i  ivas  removed,  and  I 
had  peace  and  quietness  of  mind.  I  arose  next  morning, 
and  went  to  my  work ;  and  when  those  tender  Friends  that 
had  a  regard  for  me  in  my  sickness,  came  to  see  me  that 
morning,  I  was  gone  to  work,  to  their  admiration. 

"  The  Lord,  in  a  little  time,  provided  a  help-meet  for  me, 
for  I  prayed  unto  Him,  that  she  might  be  of  his  own  pro- 
viding. We  concluded  to  lay  our  proceedings  before  our 
elders,  and  especially  George  Fox — who  desired  the  Lord 
to  be  with  us.  And  when  we  saw  our  clearness  in  the  Lord^ 
we  went  to  the  meeting  in  Tower  Street,  London,  in  the 
morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  to  Southwark ;  and  in  that 
meeting,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  that  assembly,  we  took 
13* 


150 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


each  other  to  be  man  and  wife.  God  alone  knew  our  inno- 
cency  and  integrity  in  coming  together.  It  was  not  for 
gold,  nor  silver,  nor  any  outward  thing ;  but  to  be  service- 
able to  Him  in  our  age  and  generation,  and  to  stand  wit- 
nesses for  Him  and  His  blessed  Truth,  where  he  should 
send  us.  Soon  after,  in  the  Lord's  time,  we  made  what 
haste  we  could  to  come  to  the  country  where  we  believed 
the  Lord  would  have  us  to  be,  and  we  said,  *  O  Lord,  if 
thou  wilt  be  wdth  us  in  our  way,  and  give  us  bread  to  eat 
and  raiment  to  put  on,  then,  O  Lord,  thou  shalt  be  our 
God.'  And  the  Lord  w^as  with  us,  and  gave  us  His  sweet 
and  comfortable  presence." 

Richard  Davies  continued  to  reside  in  Wales  for  many 
years,  and  became  an  eminent  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
his  Divine  Master,  in  gathering  many  from  the  barren 
mountains  of  an  empty  profession,  to  sit  down  in  the  silence 
of  all  flesh,  and  learn  from  the  great  Minister  of  ministers 
the  manifestations  of  His  holy  will,  and  the  mysteries  of 
pure  spiritual  religion. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

GEORGE  ROBINSON  GOES  TO  JERUSALEM,  AND  MARY  FISHER 
TO  TURKEY. 

ABOUT  the  year  1657,  several  of  the  ministers  raised 
up  to  testify  to  the  universal  grace  of  God  through 
Christ,  as  the  free  offer  of  salvation  to  all  mankind,  were 
called  forth  by  their  divine  Master,  to  bear  witness  to  his 
goodness,  as  with  their  lives  in  their  hands,  among  the  semi- 
barbarous  inhabitants  of  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  sea. 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


151 


George  Robinson,  of  London,  believed  it  required  of  him 
to  travel  in  the  service  of  the  gospel  to  Jerusalem,  and  there 
bear  his  testimony  to  pure  and  spiritual  religion.  Embark- 
ing from  Leghorn  in  Italy,  he  landed  at  the  port  of  Ptole- 
mais,  now  called  Acre,  in  the  Levant,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  Joppa,  and  Ramlah,  or  Arimathea.  But  the  Romish 
priests  at  Jerusalem,  hearing  of  him,  and  understanding 
that  his  object  was  to  decry  the  superstition  of  pilgrimages, 
which  was  their  chief  means  of  support,  procured  his  arrest 
and  confinement.  After  a  short  imprisonment,  an  old 
Turkish  inhabitant  of  the  place  took  him  to  his  house,  and 
for  several  days  entertained  him  with  much  hospitality. 
At  length  there  came  an  Irish  friar  from  the  Popish  priests 
and  friars  at  Jerusalem,  who  began  to  question  him,  whether 
he  would,  on  his  arrival  at  that  ancient  city,  visit  the  vari- 
ous holy  places,  as  they  were  called,  pay  the  usual  sums  of 
money,  and  Avear  the  customary  habit  of  the  pilgrims  ?  He 
was  also  enjoined  not  to  speak  anything  about  religion,  or 
against  the  Turkish  laws  which  were  in  force  there.  George, 
however,  was  not  at  liberty  to  submit  to  terms,  which  would 
have  fettered  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  through 
him  as  an  instrument  of  the  divine  will ;  and  steadfastly  re- 
fusing to  comply  with  their  wishes,  he  was  carried  back  by  a 
guard  of  horse  and  foot  soldiers  to  Joppa,  and  thence  con- 
veyed to  Acre,  where  he  had  first  landed.  Here  he  was 
kindly  entertained  by  an  old  French  merchant,  who  was 
secretly  drawn  in  sympathy  towards  him  ;  and  feeling  still 
a  necessity  laid  upon  him  to  endeavor  to  prosecute  his 
journey,  this  merchant  assisted  him  to  return  to  Joppa, 
whence  he  again  reached  Ramlah  on  foot.  On  the  road  he 
was  attacked  by  three  robbers,  who  plundered  him,  but 
afterwards,  moved  perhaps  by  his  innocent  behavior,  or  by 
the  special  interposition  of  Divine  Providence,  one  of  tliem 
returned  what  they  had  taken,  and  in  a  friendly  manner 
conducted  him  on  his  journey.    Arriving  at  Ramlah,  he 


152 


HTSTOHTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


was  again  seized  by  the  contrivance  of  the  friars,  and  car- 
ried into  one  of  the  Mahometan  mosques ;  where  he  was 
required,  on  pain  of  death,  to  profess  the  Mahometan 
religion,  in  compliance  with  the  custom  of  the  Turks,  that 
whoever  enters  a  mosque  must  embrace  their  religion  or  die. 
Some  of  their  priests  pressed  him  with  much  solicitation ; 
but  he  persisting  in  his  refusal,  and  in  the  true  spirit  of  the 
martyrs  declaring  that  he  would  rather  die  than  violate 
his  conscience  by  complying  with  their  demand,  they  grew 
angry ;  and  delivering  him  to  the  executioner,  he  was  hur- 
ried away  to  the  place  of  execution,  to  be  burnt  to  death. 
Here  he  was  made  to  sit  down  upon  the  ground,  as  a  sheep 
among  wolves ;  and  as  he  sat,  engaged  in  inward  supplica- 
tion, and  resigned  to  the  will  of  his  divine  Master,  He 
whom  he  served  was  pleased  to  interpose  for  his  deliverance ; 
the  Turks  began  to  fall  out  among  themselves ;  and  a  grave 
old  man  of  note  among  them  came  up  to  him,  and  declared, 
that  whether  l^e  would  turn  to  their  religion  or  not,  he 
should  not  die.  He  was  again  interrogated,  whether  ho 
would  deny  his  Saviour ;  to  which  he  firmly  answered.  No ! 
The  old  man  ordered  his  servants  to  conduct  George  to  his 
house,  where  he  treated  him  kindly  for  some  days.  But 
the  friars  still  plotted  against  him,  and  hired  a  guard  of 
horsemen  to  carry  him  to  Gaza,  before  the  Pacha,  trusting 
that  their  insinuations  had  influenced  this  officer  against 
him.  But  coming  to  Gaza,  some  of  the  Turks  acquainted 
the  Pacha  with  the  malicious  designs  of  the  friars,  and 
instead  of  complying  with  their  wishes,  he  made  them  pay 
a  considerable  fine,  and  compelled  them  to  convey  George 
Robinson  in  safety  to  Jerusalem.  Their  own  malice  thus 
proving  the  means  of  his  obtaining  an  official  authority 
which  they  could  not  withstand,  they  now  tried  other  arts 
on  his  arrival  at  their  convent,  to  frustrate  the  object  of 
his  journey ;  and  like  sycophants,  began  to  flatter  him, 
telling  him  that  his  preservation  through  so  many  enemies 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXBS. 


153 


was  miraculous,  pretendiug  that  they  had  been  misinformed 
about  him,  and  offering  that  if  he  would  visit  their  pre- 
tended holy  places,  as  other  pilgrims,  he  should  do  it  with- 
out cost,  instead  of  having  to  pay  them  considerable  fees. 
But  George,  faithful  to  his  testimony  against  the  supersti- 
tious veneration  for  those  places,  replied,  "  I  shall  not  visit 
them  in  your  manner ;  for  in  so  doing  I  should  sin  against 
God."  They  told  him  that  if  he  would  conform,  they 
would  honor  him  as  much  as  they  had  honored  any  Eng- 
lishman that  had  ever  visited  them ;  but  he  told  them  he 
should  not  conform,  and  as  for  their  honor,  he  mattered  it 
not.  They  then  became  angry,  and  began  to  threaten  to 
make  him  an  example  to  all  Englishmen  who  should  come 
thither ;  but  he  said,  I  choose  your  dishonor  rather  than  your 
honor;  and  told  them,  that  they,  under  pretence  of  doing  ser- 
vice to  God,  in  visiting  the  places  where  the  holy  men  dwelt, 
opposed  and  resisted  that  life  which  the  holy  men  of  God  lived 
and  walked  in ;  adding  that  he  would  have  them  turn  from 
those  evil  practices,  else  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty  would 
be  kindled  against  them.  They  did  not  like  such  discourse, 
and  replied  that  whether  he  would  go  to  see  their  places  or 
not,  the  Turks  must  be  paid,  and  insisted  that  if  he  would 
not  visit  them,  he  must  pay  twenty-five  dollars,  "  for  the 
Turks "  as  they  pretended ;  though  if  he  would  visit  their 
favorite  relics,  "  they  would  pay  the  money  for  him."  But 
he  told  them  that  he  would  not  comply  with  any  such 
unreasonable  demands. 

They  then  brought  him  before  one  of  the  Turkish  officers 
of  the  city,  who,  discoursing  about  the  worship  of  the 
Christians,  asked  him  the  ground  of  his  coming  to  Jeru- 
salem. He  answered,  "  that  he  came  thither  by  the  com- 
mand of  the  Lord  God  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  that  the 
great  and  tender  love  of  God  was  made  manifest  in  visiting 
them  ;  His  compassionate  mercies  being  such,  that  he  would 
gather  them  in  this  the  day  of  his  gathering."  Having 


154 


HTSTOETCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1657. 


now,  as  he  believed,  delivered  the  message  with  which  he 
liad  been  commissioned  to  these  people,  having  practically 
testified  against  their  bigotry,  and  cleared  his  conscience  of 
their  blood,  he  found  great  peace  with  the  Lord,  and  re- 
turned home,  magnifying  His  glorious  name,  who  had  pre- 
served him  through  so  many  dangers,  and  provided  a  way 
for  him  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies.  It  is  remarkable,  that 
the  friars  were  compelled  by  the  Turks  to  convey  him  back 
safely,  and  free  of  charge,  to  the  port  of  his  embarkation. 

Mary  Fisher,  who  had  now  returned  from  the  scene  of 
persecutions  in  New  England,  felt  an  extraordinary  con- 
cern in  her  mind,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey, 
Mahomet  IV.,  then  encamped  with  his  army  near  Adria- 
nople.  She  proceeded  as  far  as  Smyrna,  where  the  English 
Consul  stopped  her,  and  sent  her  back  to  Venice.  Still, 
how^ever,  endeavoring  to  obey  her  Maker  rather  than  man, 
she  prosecuted  her  journey  by  another  route,  and  travelling 
overland  she  arrived  safely  at  Adrianople,  a  journey  of  five 
or  six  hundred  miles.  There  she  requested  some  of  the 
inhabitants  to  accompany  her  to  the  camp  ;  but  fearing  the 
displeasure  of  the  Sultan,  they  objected,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  go  alone.  At  the  camp  she  sent  a  message  to  the  Grand 
Vizier,  that  "  there  was  an  Englishwoman  who  had  some- 
thing to  declare  from  the  Great  God  to  the  Sultan ; "  who 
sent  her  word  that  the  next  morning  he  would  procure  her 
an  opportunity  of  an  interview.  Accordingly  returning  to 
the  city  that  night,  she  went  back  to  the  camp  at  the  time 
appointed,  and  was  brought  before  the  Sultan  and  his  great 
officers  of  state.  He  asked  her  whether  it  was  true  that  she 
had  a  message  to  him  from  the  Almighty,  to  which  she 
answering  that  it  was  so,  he  bid  her  speak  on.  She  stood 
silent  a  while,  with  her  mind  retired  in  inward  waiting  for 
the  divine  motion  and  power,  to  give  weight  and  energy  to 
what  she  had  to  deliver ;  wdien  the  Sultan,  supposing  she 
might  be  fearful  of  expressing  herself  before  them  all, 


1657.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


155 


asked  her  whether  she  wished  any  of  the  company  to  retire. 
She  ansAvered,  no ;  and  he  then  desired  her  to  speak  the 
word  of  the  Lord  to  them,  and  not  to  fear,  for  they  had 
good  hearts,  and  would  hear  it ;  strictly  charging  her  to 
deliver  the  whole  message,  neither  more  nor  less,  for  they 
were  willing  to  hear  it,  be  it  what  it  might.  She  then  in  a 
weighty  frame  relieved  her  mind  of  what  lay  upon  it,  to 
which  the  Turks  listened  with  much  seriousness  and  gravity ; 
and  when  she  had  finished,  the  Sultan  asking  her  if  she  had 
any  more  to  say ;  she  asked  if  he  had  understood  what  she 
had  said  ?  To  which  he  replied,  "  Yes,  every  word ; " 
adding  that  it  was  truth,  and  respectfully  inviting  her  to 
remain  in  the  country.  When  he  found  that  she  wished  to 
go  to  Constantinople  in  order  to  return  home,  he  offered 
her  a  guard,  saying  that  it  was  unsafe  for  her  to  travel 
alone,  and  that  he  would  not,  for  any  consideration,  have 
any  injury  occur  to  her  in  his  dominions.  This,  however, 
she  modestly  declined,  confiding  in  the  protection  of  that 
Divine  Arm  which  had  brought  her  thither.  Then  some 
of  them  asked  her,  what  she  thought  of  their  prophet  Ma- 
homet ?  To  which  she  made  a  cautious  reply,  saying,  "  that 
she  knew  him  not ;  but  Christ  she  knew,  who  was  the  true 
prophet,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Light  of  the  world,  that  en- 
lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  After 
some  more  conversation,  she  took  her  leave,  and  departing 
for  Constantinople  without  a  guard,  arrived  there  safely, 
without  the  least  injury  or  insult,  and  thence  returned  to 
England ;  having  experienced  respectful  kindness  and 
attention  from  those  called  infidels,  in  remarkable  contrast 
with  the  bigoted  cruelty  of  men  unworthily  claiming  the 
name  of  Christians,  whom  she  had  encountered  in  New 
England. 


156 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1658. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  CATHARINE  EVANS  AND  SARAH  CHEE- 

VERS  IN  THE  INQUISITION  AT  MALTA  AND  OF  JOHN 

rillLLY  AND  WILLIAM  MOORE  IN  HUNGARY,  ETC. 

IN  the  year  1658,  Catharine  Evans  and  Sarah  Cheevers, 
under  a  religious  concern  to  propagate,  in  the  dark 
lands  of  superstition  and  ignorance,  the  doctrine  of  the  di- 
^  vine  Light  of  Christ  in  the  heart  of  man,  took  passage  in 
a  ship  bound  from  London  to  Leghorn;  where  arriving 
safely,  they  stayed  some  time,  discoursing  on  religion  with 
the  people  who  came  to  them,  and  distributing  the  books 
of  Friends,  explanatory  of  their  principles.  Hence  they 
took  passage  in  a  Dutch  ship  bound  to  Alexandria;  but 
the  master  put  into  Malta ;  and  the  women  landing  were 
met  by  the  English  Consul,  gave  him  some  books,  and  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  his  residence.  Curiosity  now  drew 
many  of  the  inhabitants  to  visit  them,  whom  they  found  it 
laid  upon  them  to  call  to  repentance,  and  several  were  seri- 
ously touched  by  their  testimony.  They  went  also  to  the 
nunnery,  to  see  the  governor's  sister,  where  they  conversed 
on  religious  subjects  with  the  nuns,  and  distributed  books. 
Here  a  priest  found  them,  brought  them  into  the  chapel, 
and  wanted  them  to  bow  before  the  high  altar.  But  with 
abhorrence  of  such  idolatry  they  firmly  refused,  and  went 
back  to  their  abode  at  the  British  Consulate.  During 
three  months  of  their  stay  there,  they  were  several  times 
called  before  the  officers  of  the  Inquisition,  and  examined 
about  their  religious  principles;  but  through  the  wisdom 
with  which  they  were  furnished,  they  answered  in  such  a 
manner  as  neither  to  give  these  men  the  advantage  against 
them  which  they  were  seeking,  nor  to  give  away  the  cause 


1658.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


157 


of  Truth  by  the  least  compliance  with  their  superstitions. 
Indeed  they  often  testified  boldly  against  the  bigotry  so 
prevalent  in  that  popish  place.  The  Consul  was  at  length 
bribed  to  violate  the  rights  of  hospitality  and  the  duty  of 
his  official  station ;  and  treacherously  withdrew  his  protec- 
tion so  far  as  to  allow  their  being  taken  by  the  officers  of 
the  Inquisition.  By  the  lord  inquisitor  they  were  required 
to  change  their  religion ;  but  steadfastly  refusing,  they  were 
confined  in  a  close,  dark  room,  with  only  two  little  holes 
for  light  and  air,  and  so  extremely  hot,  that  it  seemed  as 
if  the  intention  was  to  stifle  them  to  death. 

They  were  brought  under  examination  again  and  again, 
and  continually  beset  with  the  impertinencies  of  monks  and 
priests,  to  terrify  or  beguile  them  into  conformity  to  their  su- 
perstitions. But  all  their  eflTorts  were  inefiectual ;  these  inno- 
cent women  being  too  well  established  in  that  pure  religion 
whose  efficacy  they  had  experienced,  to  be  perverted  there- 
from by  flattery,  or  terrified  by  threats,  though  daily  in 
danger  of  their  lives,  and  under  dismal  apprehensions  of 
being  led  to  the  stake.  It  seemed,  however,  as  if  the  inten- 
tion of  their  keepers  was  rather  to  put  them  out  of  the  way 
quietly,  than  to  execute  them  in  a  public  manner.  They 
were  put  into  a  room  so  exceedingly  hot  and  suffocating, 
that  it  was  thought  they  could  not  long  survive.  They 
were  often  compelled  to  rise  from  their  bed,  and  lie  down 
at  the  chink  of  the  door,  to  draw  a  breath  of  air.  Their 
skin  became  parched,  their  hair  fell  ofl*,  and  they  frequently 
fainted  away.  They  now  wrote  a  remonstrance  to  the  in- 
quisitor, pleading  their  innocence,  and  complaining  of  the 
hardships  to  which  they  were  subjected ;  but  he  was  so  of- 
fended at  it,  that  he  ordered  their  ink-horns  to  be  taken 
from  them.  He  also  gave  orders  for  them  to  be  separated, 
which  added  much  to  their  grief,  especially  as  Catharine's 
sickness  increased  greatly,  so  that  she  was  broken  out  in 
sores  from  head  to  foot ;  and  the  doctor  being  sent  for, 
14 


158 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIES  OF 


[1659. 


declared  that  they  must  have  air,  or  they  would  die.  The 
inquisitor  hereupon  ordered  the  doors  to  be  opened  for  six 
hours  in  the  day.  Ten  weeks  after  this,  they  were  sepa- 
rated, and  told  that  they  should  never  see  each  other  more ; 
the  friars  hoping  that  by  attacking  them  separately,  they 
might  be  more  able  to  prevail  upon  them.  But  in  this  they 
were  disappointed,  the  Lord  himself  being  their  companion, 
enduing  them  with  strength  to  resist  all  the  attempts  of 
their  enemies,  and  even  enabling  them  to  S2)eak  boldly  at 
various  times  in  His  name,  to  those  who  came  to  see  them. 
Some  considerable  repairs  to  the  inquisition  were  going  on, 
which  occupied  about  a  year  and  a  half,  and  often  drew  to 
the  place  many  workmen  and  some  of  the  persons  in  au- 
thority in  the  island,  to  whom  these  women  had  opportunities 
of  declaring  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  But  the  friars 
were  indefatigable  in  their  endeavors,  both  by  persuasion 
and  threats,  to  induce  them  to  change  their  religion.  Some 
of  their  language  was  exceedingly  disgraceful  to  men  pro- 
fessing religion,  abounding  as  it  did,  in  expressions  border- 
ing on  blasphemy,  and  threats  that  these  poor  defenceless 
women  should  be  covered  over  in  a  pile  of  chains,  that  they 
should  be  given  to  the  devil,  that  they  should  never  come 
out  of  the  prison  alive,  that  they  should  be  burnt  to  death, 
or,  that  as  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  struck  down  dead 
by  the  word  of  the  Lord  through  the  apostles,  so  the  friars 
would  do  to  them.  But  their  meek,  yet  firm  reply  was,  that 
their  persecutors  might  do  what  they  would ;  they  did  not 
fear ;  that  if  they  suffered,  they  were  the  Lord's,  and  trusted 
in  Him  ;  that  they  were  settled  and  grounded  in  the  Truth, 
and  the  more  they  persecuted  them,  the  stronger  they  grew. 
Sometimes  they  spoke  so  effectually  to  those  who  came  to 
them,  that  they  could  not  contradict  them,  but  were  struck 
with  conviction.  And  Catharine's  prison  being  at  one  time 
so  near  the  street  that  she  could  be  heard  by  the  passers-by, 
she  frequently  found  it  her  duty  to  call  them  to  repentance, 


1660.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXD3. 


159 


and  direct  them  to  the  Light  of  Christ,  which  woukl  lead 
them  from  all  sinful  ways  and  worships,  to  ?erve  and  wor- 
ship God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Some  would  stay  to  listen 
as  long  as  they  dared,  for  the  people  were  narrowly  watched. 
Others,  however,  were  hardened  in  wickedness,  and  mali- 
ciously threw  stones  at  her  window,  as  they  passed  to  their 
place  of  worship. 

Several  efibrts  were  made  by  various  persons  to  obtain 
their  release.  The  treacherous  consul,  who  had  been  miser- 
able ever  since  their  imprisonment,  visited  them,  and  made 
an  ineffectual  application  to  the  inquisitor  on  their  behalf, 
offering  to  return  the  money  by  which  the  friars  had  bribed 
him  to  allow  of  their  arrest.  But  he  died  before  any  thing 
effectual  was  done  towards  their  deliverance.  Two  English- 
men after  this  endeavored,  but  to  no  purpose,  to  accomplish 
the  same  object.  One  Francis  Stuart  also,  a  sea-captain, 
took  great  pains  to  obtain  their  liberty ;  but  the  inquisitor 
professed  inability  to  grant  it,  without  an  order  from  the 
Pope.  They  were  told  that  one  impediment  to  their  freedom 
was  their  having  preached  to  the  people  while  there:  to 
which  they  replied,  that  they  had  testified  to  the  truth,  which 
they  were  willing  to  maintain  with  their  blood.  This  Cap- 
tain Stuart  was,  however,  admitted  to  see  them,  and  told 
them  with  tears  what  he  had  done  on  their  behalf,  but  in 
vain.  He  declared  that  if  they  could  be  set  free,  he  would 
gladly  give  them  a  passage,  and  provide  for  them  in  his 
ship ;  and  he  offered  them  money.  This  they  declined,  but 
made  sincere  acknowledgments  for  his  great  kindness,  and 
prayed  for  his  preservation  unto  everlasting  life. 

After  Stuart  was  gone,  they  met  with  worse  usage  than 
before ;  the  taking  away  of  their  lives  was  again  conspired, 
and  their  doors  were  shut  up  for  many  weeks.  But  thev 
were  still  kept  in  great  resignation,  not  daring  even  to 
beseech  the  Almighty  for  their  own  deliverance,  until  it 
should  be  His  will. 


160 


HTSTORTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


They  had  now  been  confined  nearly  three  years.  About 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1662,  Daniel  Baker,  a  friend,  who 
had  come  from  England  to  Leghorn  with  John  Stubbs,  and 
had  thence  travelled  to  Smyrna,  preaching  the  gospel  to 
Papists,  Jews  and  Mahometans,  came  back  by  Malta,  in 
sympathy  with  these  afflicted  w^omen,  and  demanded  their 
liberty  of  the  inquisitor.  His  repeated  solicitations,  how- 
ever, were  ineffectual ;  but  remaining  nearly  a  month  on  the 
island,  he  frequently  found  means  to  visit  the  prisoners,  at 
the  hazard  of  his  life ;  being  narrowly  watched,  and  daily 
threatened  with  the  inquisition.  He  administered  to  them 
spiritual  consolation,  assuring  them  that  the  church  of  God 
owned  their  testimony  for  His  cause,  "  and  they  were  a  sweet 
savor  unto  the  Lord  and  His  people."  And  though  they 
could  only  commune  with  him  through  the  iron  gratings  of 
their  windows,  yet  even  this  imperfect  intercourse  with  one 
of  their  own  countrymen,  and  a  brother  in  the  same  faith, 
was  a  source  of  great  refreshment  to  them  in  their  long  and 
hard  imprisonment. 

They  were  still  repeatedly  plied  with  attempts  by  the 
friars  to  induce  them  to  change  their  religion.  Being 
promised  a  release  if  they  would  become  "Catholics,"  they 
replied,  "  that  they  were  already  true  Catholics  "  —  the  term 
properly  signifying  members  of  the  universal  church  of 
Christ.  They  were  told  also,  that  if  they  would  but  kiss  the 
cross,  they  should  have  their  liberty  :  but  conscious  that  this 
act,  small  in  itself,  would  be  sanctioning  the  idolatry  and 
bigotry  against  which  they  had  so  long  borne  their  testimony, 
they  steadfastly  refused  to  purchase  their  liberty  or  lives  by 
such  an  act. 

At  length  George  Fox  and  Gilbert  Latey  found  means  to 
procure  their  liberation.  They  applied  to  Lord  D'Aubigny, 
an  English  papist,  for  his  friendly  interposition  by  writing 
to  the  magistrates  of  Malta ;  and  his  mediation  was  so  suc- 
cessful, that  Catharine  and  Sarah  were  soon  released,  after 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


161 


an  imprisonment  of  nearly  four  years.  After  eleven  Aveeks 
spent  again  at  the  British  consulate,  waiting  for  a  vessel, 
they  embarked  for  Leghorn,  and  thence  passed  to  Tangier, 
at  that  time  besieged  by  the  Moors ;  notwithstanding  which 
they  entered  the  town,  and  had  many  opportunities  of 
exhorting  the  people  to  amendment  of  life.  They  also 
visited  the  governor,  who  courteously  received  them,  took 
their  admonition  in  good  part,  and  would  have  given  them 
money.  The  Portuguese  and  Irish  papists  here  were  ready 
to  do  them  mischief ;  but  the  governor  threatened  any  of  the 
garrison  who  should  abuse  or  insult  them,  with  severe 
punishment.  And  such  was  the  favorable  opinion  which 
their  integrity  procured  for  them,  that  when  they  took  ship 
from  Tangier  for  England,  several  embarked  with  them,  in 
preference  to  going  in  another  vessel,  believing  that  on 
account  of  these  pious  women,  they  should  have  a  safer 
passage.  At  length  they  arrived  at  home  in  safety,  magni- 
fying the  divine  mercy,  manifested  in  their  wonderful 
deliverance. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  year,  John  Philly  and  ^yilliam 
jMoorej  being  in  Germany  with  some  other  Friends,  felt  a 
concern  to  proceed  into  Hungary,  and  visit  the  Hortesche 
brethren,  a  kind  of  Baptists,  who  refused  to  swear  or  fight, 
and  who  lived  by  hundreds  together  in  families,  having 
community  of  goods.  They  accordingly  proceeded  to  the 
nearest  body  of  these  people,  residing  near  Cushart,  about  a 
day's  journey  from  Presburg,  and  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained. Here  they  dispersed  some  religious  books,  and  had 
favorable  opportunities  for  gospel  labor  among  them, 
endeavoring  to  promote  their  growth  in  pure  Christianity. 
They  were  by  these  people  informed  of  another  of  their  com- 
munities, settled  three  hundred  miles  further,  at  Pattock,  in 
Upper  Hungary.  They  therefore  continued  their  journey 
towards  Comora,  on  an  island  in  the  Danube,  having  their 
religious  books  with  them.  Here  they  were  seized  by  the 
14* 


162 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


garrison,  and  carried  before  an  inquisitor,  who  informed 
William,  that  the  bringing  of  their  books  into  the  country 
was  a  capital  crime,  and  would  cost  him  his  life;  asking 
them  if  they  did  not  know  that  "  Catholics "  had  laws  to 
burn  and  torment  heretics,  and  any  who  carried  such  books. 
For  more  than  a  week,  they  were  beset  with  attempts  to 
induce  them  to  profess  the  Popish  religion,  and  threatened 
with  the  rack  :  which  threats  at  length  were  put  in  execution. 
The  inquisitor  came  to  William,  and  told  him  that  he  was 
to  be  subjected  to  the  rack,  and  afterwards  was  to  lose  his 
head.  It  seems  that  they  professed  to  consider  these  Friends 
as  spies,  in  order  to  justify  in  some  degree  the  cruelties  they 
designed  to  inflict  upon  them.  It  was  in  vain  that  William 
pleaded  his  innocence ;  he  was  put  to  the  rack,  whereby  his 
thumbs  were  exceedingly  pinched  by  iron  screws,  his  arm 
dislocated,  and  his  back  and  many  of  his  joints  twisted  and 
bent  by  tight  cords ;  his  chin  was  drawn  close  to  his  breast, 
and  his  mouth  and  throat  so  distorted,  that  he  was  almost 
choked.  Then  John  was  brought,  who  not  seeing  his  com- 
panion, supposed  that  he  had  been  hung  on  a  gallows  which 
was  in  the  place :  he  also  was  put  to  the  torture  in  the  midst 
of  his  protestations  of  innocence.  They  were  now  told,  that 
it  would  soon  be  determined  by  what  mode  they  should  lose 
their  lives.  The  inquisitor  required  William  to  put  in 
writing  the  principal  tenets  of  his  religion,  and  intercepted 
a  letter  which  they  wrote  to  the  governor  remonstrating 
against  these  cruelties.  After  about  sixteen  weeks'  imprison- 
ment, they  were  conveyed  in  chains  to  General  Nadasti  ; 
and  passing  under  a  sort  of  examination  before  him  and 
several  other  lords  of  that  country,  they  were  condemned  to 
be  burned,  if  they  did  not  submit  to  embrace  the  Popish 
religion.  Under  this  dismal  sentence  John  Philly  was 
divinely  supported,  and  encouraged  his  companion,  in  a  full 
persuasion  that  the  power  of  the  Almighty  would  still  open 
a  way  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives,  by  dividing  the 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


163 


counsels  of  their  persecutors ;  -which  proved  to  be  the  case. 
They  were  now  sent  to  a  place  near  Vienna,  where  they 
were  searched  by  the  priests,  their  books  and  papers  taken 
away,  and  they  were  threatened  with  most  cruel  tortures. 
Manacles  were  locked  on  their  wrists,  so  tight  as  to  make 
them  cry  out  ^vith  pain,  and  they  were  thrust  into  a  narrow 
hole  along  with  some  Turkish  prisoners,  and  not  allowed 
straw,  or  scarcely  room  to  lie  down.  William  Moore  became 
much  discouraged  at  their  disconsolate  situation,  being  again 
threatened  to  be  burned  to  death  ;  and  crying  to  the  Almighty 
for  help,  he  was  encouraged,  by  means  of  a  dream,  to  believe 
the  Lord  would  provide  for  their  safety.  The  very  same 
day,  a  message  came  from  a  certain  earl  in  authority  there, 
expressing  his  displeasure  at  these  rigorous  proceedings  of 
the  priests. 

It  was  now  resolved  by  these  men  to  separate  the  two 
Friends,  and  William  was  violently  and  clandestinely 
carried  off  in  a  sled  over  the  snow,  to  a  convent  several 
miles  distant  in  a  wilderness,  where  he  was  laid  in  chains, 
and  the  next  day  blindfolded  and  put  into  a  deep  dungeon ; 
a  Jew  there  being  threatened  with  death  if  he  gave  any 
intelligence  of  him.  Here  he  was  kept  four  days  and 
nights,  in  severe  frosty  weather,  with  nothing  to  subsist 
upon  but  bread  and  water ;  and  he  was  apprehensive  that 
their  intention  was  privately  to  murder  him  in  this  secret 
place. 

After  about  twelve  days'  imprisonment,  they  renewed 
their  attempts  to  convert  him  to  the  Romish  religion ;  but 
he  still  remaining  inflexibly  firm  to  that  faith,  the  divine 
efficacy  of  which  he  had  experienced,  they  again  had  re- 
course to  muu.,tC'es,  threatening  at  one  time  to  cut  out  his 
tongue,  and  at  another,  to  flay  him  alive,  if  he  would 
not  turn  papist. 

There  was  a  man  named  Adam  Bien,  a  barber  to  the 
above-mentioned  ear],  who  at  the  place  of  their  confinement, 


164 


ITTSTOTITCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1GG2. 


near  Vienna,  had  found  means  sometimes  to  have  access  to 
them,  and  had  been  reached  by  their  pious  discourse,  and 
in  good  degree  convinced  of  the  truth  of  their  principles. 
This  man  commiserated  much  their  suffering  condition,  and 
exerted  himself  indefatigably  to  obtain  their  release.  By 
some  means  he  found  out  the  place  of  William's  detention, 
notwithstanding  the  secrecy  maintained  by  the  priests,  and 
supplied  him  with  some  refreshments.  The  earl  being 
seized  with  sickness,  from  w^hich  his  recovery  was  doubtful, 
Adam,  who  had  influence  with  this  nobleman,  seized  this 
opportunity  of  renewing  his  solicitations  in  their  favor,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  order  for  their  release. 
They  were  then  set  at  liberty,  and  though  turned  adrift 
without  any  money,  which  had  all  been  taken  away  from 
them,  and  in  a  country  infested  with  war,  yet  they  were 
favored  to  arrive  in  safety  among  their  friends. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

EDWARD  BURROUGH  AND  RICHARD  HUBBERTHORN,  BEING 
VIOLENTLY  SEIZED  AT  THE  BULL-AND-MOUTH  MEETING, 
DIE  IN  PRISON. 

DUKING  the  year  1662,  died  Edward  Burrough,  a 
witness  unto  death  for  the  cause  of  a  good  conscience 
toward  God.  We  have  seen  by  what  process  of  mental 
experience  and  refinement  he  was  brought  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  how,  about  the  eighteenth 
year  of  his  age,  his  Divine  Master  saw  fit  to  make  use  of 
him  to  sound  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  to  his  fellow- 
men.    His  ministry  was  powerful  and  reaching,  his  doctrine 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


165 


sound,  and  his  language  eloquent;  having  learned  in  the 
best  school,  that  of  Christ  himself,  and  been  prepared  for 
the  ministry  by  the  immediate  teachings  of  the  Spirit  of 
Truth,  gradually  leading  unto  the  living  experience  of 
holiness,  and  clothing  him  with  ardent  desires  for  the  sal- 
vation of  mankind. 

His  own  example  gave  efficacy  to  his  ministry.  He  lived 
as  he  advised  others  to  live,  in  the  fear  of  his  Maker,  and 
in  a  sense  of  His  omnipresence.  His  natural  disposition 
was  bold  and  manly,  tempered  with  innocence ;  his  conver- 
sation affable  and  instructive,  circumscribed  by  great 
watchfulness  over  himself  His  Christian  courage  in  the 
fiilfilment  of  his  duty  was  remarkable,  an  instance  of  which 
we  may  here  mention. 

On  one  of  his  frequent  visits  to  London,  he  passed  by  a 
place,  where  a  number  of  rude  muscular  men  were  exhibit- 
ing feats  of  wrestling,  before  a  multitude  of  idle  people, 
who  stood  gazing  at  them  outside  a  ring.  He  saw  how  one 
strong  and  dexterous  fellow  had  already  thrown  three  others, 
and  was  waiting  for  a  fourth  champion,  if  any  durst  venture 
to  enter  the  lists.  At  length,  none  being  bold  enough  to 
try,  Edward  Burrough  stepped  within  the  ring ;  and  looking 
upon  the  wrestler  with  a  serious  countenance,  the  man  was 
not  a  little  surprised,  instead  of  an  airy  antagonist,  to  meet 
with  a  grave  and  awful  young  man.  All  stood  amazed  at 
the  sight,  wondering  what  would  be  the  issue  of  this  con- 
test. But  it  was  quite  another  fight  that  Edward  aimed  at. 
He  began  very  seriously  to  speak  to  the  by-standers,  and 
that  with  such  a  heart-piercing  power,  that  he  was  heard  by 
this  mixed  and  rude  multitude  with  no  less  attention  than 
admiration.  His  speech  tended  to  turn  them  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.  To  effect 
this,  he  labored  with  convincing  power,  showing  how  God 
had  not  left  himself  without  a  witness,  but  had  graciously 
enlightened  every  man  with  the  light  of  Christ.  Thus 


166 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


zealously  he  preached ;  and  though  many  might  look  on 
this  as  a  novelty,  yet  it  was  of  such  effect,  that  some  were 
convinced  of  the  truth. 

He  travelled  in  many  parts  of  England,  Ireland,  Scotland 
and  Flanders,  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministerial  gift,  meet-  ] 
ing  with  repeated  sufferings  and  imprisonments.  But  his 
principal  field  of  labor  was  London  and  its  neighborhood, 
where  his  ministry  was  effectual  to  the  conversion  of  many. 
His  gospel  solicitude  for  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  was  so 
warm,  that  when  persecution  grew  hot,  he  said  to  his  bosom 
friend,  Francis  Howgill :  "  I  can  freely  go  to  that  city,  and 
lay  down  my  life  for  a  testimony  to  that  truth,  which  I  have 
declared  through  the  Spirit  and  power  of  God."  And 
being  this  year  on  a  visit  to  Friends  in  Bristol,  in  taking 
leave  of  them,  he  said  "  he  did  not  know  that  he  should  see 
their  faces  any  more ; "  and  therefore  exhorted  them  to 
faithfulness ;  adding  to  some,  "  I  am  now  going  up  to  Lon- 
don again,  to  lay  down  my  life  for  the  Gospel,  and  suffer 
among  Friends  in  that  place." 

About  that  time  the  rage  of  persecution  was  such,  that  it 
was  estimated  there  were  five  hundred  Friends  in  prison  at 
one  time  in  London  alone ;  and  the  Friends  who  met  for 
divine  worship  at  the  "  Bull-and-Mouth  "  meeting,  near  the 
centre  of  the  metropolis,  were  particularly  exposed  to  the 
merciless  violence  of  the  magistrates  and  soldiery.  The 
soldiers  came  several  successive  First-days,  with  muskets, 
lighted  matches,  pikes,  and  halberts,  conducted  by  an 
officer,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  one  hand,  and  a  cane  in  the 
other.  They  usually  entered  with  violent  rushing  and 
uproar,  to  terrify  the  assembly,  commanding  the  people  to 
be  gone ;  and  then  shamefully  attacked  both  men  and 
women  with  canes  and  clubs,  threatening  to  fire  at  them, 
and  even  striking  them  with  swords,  and  the  butt-ends  of 
their  muskets,  in  such  a  manner  that  some  fainted  away, 
and  others  survived  their  injuries  but  a  short  time. 


L662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


167 


On  one  occasion,  when  the  meeting  was  near  breaking 
ip,  Major-general  Kichard  Brown  entered  the  house  with  a 
oarty  of  men  with  drawn  swords,  in  a  manner  rude  and 
;errifying  beyond  expression ;  and  ordering  the  doors  to  be 
made  fast,  they  fell  upon  the  innocent  assembly,  engaged  in 
i:he  mosl  solemn  act  of  worshipping  their  Maker ;  and  with- 
out regard  to  age  or  sex,  dealt  such  unmerciful  and  unmanly 
blows  on  men  and  women  with  their  swords  and  cudgels, 
3utting,  bruising,  and  levelling  those  before  them,  as  bore 
an  appearance  of  open  hostility  beyond  w^hat  had  ever  been 
seen  in  a  time  of  peace.  Six  or  eight  together  being 
knocked  down,  were  dragged  out  and  laid  in  the  gutters 
senseless,  and  apparently  half  dead,  with  the  wounds  and 
bruises  they  had  received.  Their  blood  flowed  visibly  in 
the  street,  so  that  the  passers-by,  struck  with  compassion 
for  this  unoflending  people,  cried,  "Shame"  upon  the  per- 
petrators, and  for  their  compassionate  expressions  obtained 
also  their  share  of  similar  abuse.  Many  of  these  Friends 
were  so  much  injured,  as  to  keep  their  beds  for  a  consider- 
able time,  and  one  died  of  the  wounds  he  there  received. 
Thomas  Ellwood  was  among  those  thus  seized  on  one  of 
these  occasions,  along  with  many  more  Friends ;  and  the 
prisons  in  London  were  literally  thronged  with  this  people 
for  several  months. 

Not  long  after  Edward  Burrough's  arrival  in  London  this 
year,  he  attended  this  meeting  ;  and  while  he  was  preaching 
the  gospel,  he  was  violently  pulled  down  by  soldiers,  and 
committed,  with  many  others,  to  Newgate  prison.  Here, 
being  thrust  into  crowded  rooms,  among  the  vilest  felons, 
besides  the  great  annoyance  to  which,  from  the  filthy  charac- 
ter of  these  criminals,  and  the  dirty  state  of  the  prison, 
Friends  were  subjected,  they  were  also  witnesses  of  such  vile 
and  wicked  conduct  and  conversation,  as  brought  grief  and 
sorrow  on  their  souls.  Having  lain  here  some  weeks,  Edward 
was  brought  to  trial  at  the  Old  Bailey,  fined  by  the  court 


168 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


twenty  marks,  without  authority  of  any  law,  and  condemned 
to  lie  in  prison  till  he  should  pay  the  fine.  As  the  deed  for 
■which  he  and  his  brethren  were  condemned,  viz.,  meeting 
for  the  worship  of  God,  was  in  their  estimation  no  crime,  but 
an  act  of  indispensable  duty  to  their  Maker  and  Redeemer ; 
and  as  a  voluntary  and  active  compliance  with  the' penalty 
would  have  been  a  tacit  confession  of  guilt,  a  giving  away 
of  the  cause,  and  a  balking  of  their  testimony  to  the  Truth  ; 
they  durst  not,  for  conscience'  sake,  pay  the  fine ;  so  that  this 
sentence  amounted  to  perpetual  imprisonment,  unless  released 
by  the  king. 

Being  thus  immured  in  prison  with  six  or  seven  score  of 
his  Friends,  and  so  many  crowded  into  one  room  as  to  make 
it  even  suffocating,  many  of  them  grew  sick  and  died ;  of 
which  number  he  was  one.  A  special  order  from  the  king 
was  sent  to  the  sherifl^s  for  his  release  and  that  of  some 
others  ;  but  so  implacable  was  the  malice  of  some  of  the  city 
magistrates,  that  they  found  means  to  evade  the  execution 
of  this  order.  Edward  being  consequently  still  detained  in 
prison,  his  disease  gained  upon  him,  and  threatened  approach- 
ing dissolution.  But  this  holy  man  being  raised  above  the 
fear  of  death,  supported  by  the  consolatory  review  of  a  life 
spent  in  the  service  of  his  Creator,  and  comforted  by  a  con- 
sciousness of  no  wilful  omission  of  duty,  and  an  inward  sense 
of  freedom  from  the  power  and  guilt  of  sin,  through  the 
eflTectual  operation  and  atonement  of  Him  who  came  to  put 
an  end  to  sin  and  take  away  its  guilt,  he  made  the  following 
solemn  and  aflfecting  appeal :  "I  have  had  the  testimony  of 
the  Lord's  love  unto  me  from  my  youth ;  and  my  heart,  O 
Lord,  hath  been  given  up  to  do  thy  will.  I  have  preached 
the  gospel  freely  in  this  city,  and  have  often  given  up  my 
life  for  the  Gospel's  sake.  And  now,  O  Lord,  rip  open  my 
heart,  and  see  if  it  be  not  right  before  thee ! "  Again  he 
said :  "  There  is  no  iniquity  lies  at  my  door ;  but  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord  is  with  me,  and  His  life,  I  feel,  justifies 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKIEXDS. 


169 


me."  His  friends  about  him  he  exhorted  "  to  live  in  love 
and  peace,  and  love  one  another:"  and  praying  for  his 
enemies  and  persecutors,  he  said,  "Lord,  forgive  Richard 
Brown,  if  he  may  be  forgiven" — who  w^as  the  chief  agent 
of  the  persecution.  Being  sensible  that  his  dissolution  drew 
near,  he  thus  memorably  expressed  his  faith  :  "  Though  this 
body  of  clay  must  turn  to  dust,  yet  I  have  a  testimony  that 
I  have  served  God  faithfully  in  my  generation ;  and  that 
spirit  that  hath  lived  and  acted  and  ruled  in  7ne,  shall  yet 
break  forth  in  thousands."  The  morning  before  his  depart- 
ure, he  said,  "  Now  my  soul  and  spirit  is  centred  into  its 
own  being  with  God,  and  this  form  of  person  must  return 
whence  it  was  taken ; "  and  shortly  afterwards  he  expired, 
having  been  a  zealous  preacher  of  righteousness  about  ten 
years,  though  only  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

Richard  Hubberthorn  was  another  of  those  who,  violently 
dragged  away  from  the  meeting  at  the  "  Bull-and-Mouth," 
finished  their  earthly  course  this  year  in  prison,  for  the 
testimony  of  a  pure  conscience.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in 
the  army  of  the  commomvealth,  but  early  joined  George 
Fox  in  the  better  warfare  against  sin  and  spiritual  darkness ; 
and  receiving  ability  to  direct  others  in  the  sure  way  to  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven,  became  one  of  the  first  and  most 
eminent  ministers  of  the  society  of  Friends.  But  after  many 
j  travels  and  deep  sufferings  for  the  cause  of  truth,  being 
I,  seized  this  year  at  the  aforesaid  meeting,  he  was  carried 
before  that  implacable  magistrate,  Richard  Brown. ;  who 
giving  vent  to  his  passion  as  usual,  pulled  this  inoffensive 
man  down  by  the  hat,  with  such  fury  that  he  brought  his 
head  almost  to  the  ground,  and  then  committed  him  to  the 
noisome  prison  of  Newgate. 

His  infirm  constitution  was  so  affected  with  the  throng 
i      and  vitiated  air  of  this  doleful  place,  that  he  presently  grew 
sick,  and  after  about  two  months  imprisonment  was  taken 
away  by  death.    His  end  exhibited  the  happy  result  of  a 
15 


170 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1662. 


life  spent  in  righteousness  and  the  pursuit  of  peace ;  being 
enabled  in  his  last  moments  to  look  forward,  in  full  assurance 
of  faith,  to  the  near  approach  of  future  happiness.  To  some 
of  his  friends  he  expressed,  that  "  he  knew  the  ground  of  his 
salvation,  and  was  satisfied  for  ever  of  his  peace  with  the 
Lord ; "  and  at  another  time,  he  said :  "  That  faith  which 
hath  wrought  my  salvation,  I  well  know,  and  have  grounded 
satisfaction  in  it."  The  greatest  part  of  the  time  of  his  sick- 
ness he  passed  in  inward  retirement  and  meditation,  in  great 
resignation  and  stillness  ;  and  towards  his  close  he  requested 
his  friends  not  to  hold  him,  for  the  body  was  too  strait  for 
him,  and  he  was  to  be  lifted  up  on  high,  far  above  all  mortal 
or  corporeal  restraints.  And  thus,  in  a  frame  of  mind  pre- 
pared for  an  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  glory,  he  finished 
his  earthly  course,  and  doubtless  obtained  that  eternal  reward 
laid  up  for  those  who  are  faithful  unto  death. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  ELIZABETH  HOOTON  AND  OTHERS  IN 
NEW  ENGLAND. 

BEFORE  passing  to  other  matters,  we  may  revert  for  a 
short  time  to  a  continuance,  this  year  and  the  next,  of 
the  dismal  scenes  of  persecution,  which  still  disgraced  the 
profession  of  Christianity  in  New  England. 

Among  the  companions  in  prison  of  Wenlock  Christisou, 
before  alluded  to,  were  Elizabeth  Hooton,  the  first  female 
minister  among  Friends,  and  Joan  Brocksup,  each  about 
sixty  years  of  age;  who  on  being  released  from  captivity 
were  driven  into  the  wilderness,  and  left  there  exposed  to 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


171 


the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  without  provisions,  to  wander 
in  great  danger  through  places  uninhabited  and  scarcely 
passable,  until  at  length  they  came  to  Rhode  Island.  Thence 
they  went  to  Barbadoes  ;  and  still  feeling  bound  to  testify  in 
New  England  against  the  sj^irit  of  persecution  prevalent 
there,  they  returned  to  that  colony.  On  coming  to  Boston, 
however,  they  were  presently  apprehended,  and  sent  away  to 
Virginia,  whence  Elizabeth  Hooton  returned  to  England. 

After  remaining  a  short  time  in  her  native  country,  she 
found  herself  not  yet  clear,  without  making  a  third  attempt 
to  deliver  the  message  of  her  Lord  and  Master.  Accord- 
ingly, preparing  for  her  departure,  she  made  application  to 
the  King,  and  obtained  from  him  a  license  to  settle  in  any 
of  the  British  colonies.  She  and  her  daughter  set  sail  for 
Boston ;  and  immediately  on  their  arrival  the  magistrates 
would  have  fined  the  master  of  the  vessel  one  hundred 
pounds  for  bringing  her,  but  for  the  king's  license  which  she 
carried  with  her.  This  instrument  nevertheless  did  not 
prevent  them  from  indulging  their  malicious  dispositions 
against  this  devoted  woman  ;  for  at  Dover  she  was  set  in  the 
stocks,  and  kept  four  days  in  prison  in  cold  weather.  At 
Cambridge  she  was  imprisojied,  two  days  and  nights,  in  a 
close  stinking  dungeon,  without  anything  to  sit  or  lie  down 
upon,  and  without  so  much  as  bread  and  water  to  sustain 
her.  And  when  a  friend  in  sympathy  brought  her  a  little 
milk,  to  prevent  her  from  perishing  under  their  hands,  he 
was  arbitrarily  fined  five  pounds  and  sent  to  prison. 

Elizabeth  was  then  whipped  through  Cambridge,  Water- 
town  and  Dedham,  with  a  three-corded  whip  having  three 
knots  at  the  end  ;  and  in  this  mangled  condition  was  carried 
on  horseback  many  miles  into  the  wilderness,  in  frosty 
weather,  and  there  left  at  the  hazard  of  her  life,  exposed  to 
wild  beasts,  which  at  that  time  abounded  in  the  forests. 
Her  persecutors  seem  to  have  even  expected  that  she  would 
perish  by  this  exposure,  as  they  expressed  their  hopes  that 


172 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1662. 


"  they  should  never  see  her  any  more."  But  the  Lord  in 
mercy  preserved  his  servant  safe  through  the  dismal  forests 
and  deep  waters  which  she  had  to  cross,  to  a  place  called 
Rehoboth,  where  she  arrived  the  next  day.  Thence  she 
made  her  w^ay  to  Rhode  Island,  praising  and  magnifying  the 
Most  High,  whose  supporting  hand  had  been  mercifully 
displayed  for  her  preservation. 

But  her  sufferings  had  not  yet  satiated  the  malice  of  a 
persecuting  magistracy,  backed  by  the  vindictive  priests. 
As  they  had  sent  her  away  without  her  clothing,  she  returned, 
accompanied  by  her  daughter,  to  a  place  near  Cambridge, 
in  order  to  obtain  her  property.  But  as  they  were  coming 
back  towards  Rhode  Island,  they  were  apprehended,  along 
with  Sarah  Coleman,  an  ancient  woman  who  had  fallen  in 
company  with  them  in  the  woods ;  and  all  three  were  taken 
back  to  Cambridge,  abused  by  the  scholars  there,  and  then 
whipped  and  committed  to  the  house  of  correction.  No  just 
cause  was  assigned  for  this  cruel  treatment  of  inoffensive 
women,  who  were  going  about  their  lawful  occasions.  They 
Avere  sent  out  of  the  colony,  being  whipped  in  three  towns 
on  their  way  to  Rhode  Island.  Elizabeth  after  this  return- 
ing to  Boston  to  preach  repentance  to  the  inhabitants,  was 
again  sent  to  the  house  of  correction,  whipped  at  the  whip 
ping-post,  and  afterwards  at  Roxbury  and  Dedham  at  a 
cart's  tail,  taken  as  before  in  a  mangled  condition  into  the 
wilderness,  and  left  there  in  the  cold  weather,  to  make  her 
way,  twenty  miles,  back  to  Rhode  Island.  And  soon  after, 
returning  to  Boston  once  more,  she  was  again  imprisone^l, 
whipped  from  the  prison-door  to  the  end  of  the  town,  and 
sent  away  with  an  order  to  whip  her  from  town  to  town,  and 
a  threat  that  "  if  ever  she  came  thither  again,  they  would 
either  put  her  to  death  or  brand  her  on  the  shoulder."  Thus 
was  this  devoted  woman,  w^  ho  was  of  reputable  character  and 
substance,  and  perfectly  peaceable  and  inoffensive,  for  her 
faithful  endeavors  to  perform  her  gospel  mission,  cruelly 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


173 


persecuted  with  three  imprisonments,  nine  severe  whippings, 
and  two  perilous  exposures  in  the  wilderness"  to  perish  by- 
wild  beasts,  or  by  cold  and  starvation.  But  though  her 
afflictions  thus  abounded,  yet  her  inward  consolations  did 
much  more  abundantly  flow ;  under  the  precious  enjoyment 
of  which,  she  declared  her  willingness  to  endure  much  more, 
for  the  propagation  of  righteousness,  and  for  her  love  for  the 
souls  of  her  fellow-creatures. 

During  this  same  year,  three  other  women,  Mary  Tom- 
kins,  Alice  Ambrose,  and  Anne  Coleman,  went  into  the 
neighborhood  of  Piscataqua  River,  to  visit  their  friends  in 
gospel  love,  and  endeavor  to  confirm  them  in  the  truth. 
Soon  after  their  arrival,  one  Rayner,  a  priest  of  Dover, 
exciting  the  magistrates  to  their  usual  persecuting  measures, 
they  were  seized,  condemned  to  be  fastened  to  a  cart's  tail, 
and  thus  dragged  through  the  country,  and  whipped  in  all 
the  towns  they  passed  through,  until  they  should  be  out  of 
the  limits  of  that  government.  This  order  was  cruelly 
executed  at  Dover,  while  the  priest  stood  by  and  laughed  at 
these  innocent  women's  tortures.  Being  reproved  for  this 
cruel  levity,  by  two  by-standers,  the  magistrates  caused  them 
both  to  be  placed  in  the  stocks.  The  women  Avere  again 
whipped  at  Hampden  and  Salisbury ;  but  afterwards  a 
person  to  whom  they  were  intrusted,  commiserating  their 
case,  at  his  own  risk  set  them  at  liberty,  and  thus  saved 
them  from  the  infliction  of  similar  cruelty  in  several  other 
townships  through  which  they  would  have  had  to  pass. 

After  a  little  time,  not  feeling  released  from  their  religious 
engagement,  they  returned  to  Dover  ;  and  being  met  together 
with  other  Friends  on  the  First-day  of  the  week,  Alice  Am- 
brose knelt  in  prayer  to  God.  Whilst  she  was  occupied  in 
this  most  solemn  engagement,  two  constables  entered  the 
meeting,  and  seizing  her  each  by  an  arm,  inhumanly  forced 
her  out  of  doors,  and  dragged  her  with  her  face  downwards, 
over  the  snow,  which  was  knee-deep,  and  over  large  stumps 
15* 


174  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1662. 

and  logs,  for  nearly  a  mile.  They  then  returned  for  Mary 
Tomkins,  and  treated  her  in  the  same  barbarous  manner. 
The  next  morning,  which  was  excessively  cold,  they  forced 
them  into  a  canoe,  together  with  their  companion  Anne 
Coleman,  and  carried  them  to  the  mouth  of  the  harbor, 
threatening  that  they  would  now  so  dispose  of  them,  that 
they  would  be  troubled  with  them  no  more.  And  because 
these  poor  defenceless  women  were  not  willing  to  go,  they 
forced  them  down  a  very  steep  place  in  the  snow,  dragging 
Mary  Tomkins  again  over  stumps  of  trees  to  the  water  side, 
whereby  being  much  bruised,  she  fainted  under  their  hands. 
Alice  Ambrose  they  pulled  into  the  water,  and  kept  her 
swimming  by  the  canoe,  in  great  danger  of  drowning  or  of 
being  frozen  to  death.  It  seems  indeed  as  if  their  intent  was 
nothing  short  of  taking  away  the  lives  of  their  victims ;  in 
which  however  they  were  frustrated  by  a  storm,  which  drove 
them  back  to  the  house  where  they  had  kept  these  poor 
w^omen  all  the  previous  night.  Here  they  detained  them 
till  near  midnight,  and  then  turned  them  out  of  doors  in  the 
frost  and  snow%  although  Alice's  clothes  were  frozen  as  hard 
as  boards.  The  barbarity  exercised  against  these  innocent 
women  was  such,  that  in  all  probability  they  must  have 
perished,  had  not  a  merciful  Providence  interfered  for  their 
preservation. 

The  next  year,  Anne  Coleman  was  again  apprehended, 
and  with  several  other  Friends,  cruelly  whipped  through 
Salem,  Boston  and  Dedham ;  and  the  severity  of  the  whip- 
ping was  such — the  thongs  of  the  whip  wrapping  around 
her  body  and  the  knots  tearing  her  breast — that  it  was 
thought  her  life  must  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  malice  of  her 
persecutors. 

Edward  Wharton,  also,  a  respectable  inhabitant  of  Salem, 
but  who  bore  the  hated  name  of  a  Quaker,  was  a  particular 
mark  for  the  malice  of  these  unrelenting  men.  Not  being 
able,  after  many  cruel  inflictions,  to  induce  him  to  promise 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


175 


to  come  no  more  to  the  religious  meetings  of  his  Friends  at 
Boston,  he  was,  by  order  of  Governor  Endicot,  led  to  the 
market  place,  bound  to  the  wheels  of  a  great  gun,  and  bar- 
barously whipped  with  thirty  stripes  to  such  a  degree,  that 
it  was  testified  that  peas  might  lie  in  the  holes  made  in  his 
flesh  by  the  knots  of  the  whip.  His  body  was  much  swollen 
and  black  from  his  waist  upwards.  In  this  sad  condition 
they  led  him  about  the  country,  as  if  to  expose  him  to  the 
people  as  a  spectacle,  and  terrify  them  with  the  notion  of 
their  unlimited  power. 

The  eyes  of  the  people  however  began  to  be  opened,  to 
see  the  enormity  of  these  rigorous  measures  exercised 
against  an  unoffending  portion  of  their  fellow-citizens ;  and 
Governor  Endicot  being  taken  away  by  death,  and  several 
of  his  coadjutors  also  removed,  the  magistrates  became 
more  cautious  of  provoking  public  sentiment  by  continued 
persecutions.  Through  all  the  severities  which  had  been 
exercised,  the  Society  of  Friends  had  held  on  their  way, 
trusting  in  the  Lord  their  preserver,  and  had  continued  to 
spread  over  the  colony,  though  trodden  under  foot  of  men. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  JOHN  PERROT. 

THE  Society  of  Friends  was  steadily  pursuing  its  path, 
and  increasing  in  numbers,  notwithstanding  the  perse- 
cutions to  which  its  members  were  everywhere  subjected. 
But  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  every  individual  who 
was  found  within  its  precincts  should  have  been  rightly  pre- 


176 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1662. 


pared  for  the  station  which  he  might  have  assumed.  It 
would  have  been  indeed  remarkable,  if  in  the  multitude  of 
those  who  went  forth  in  that  day  of  zeal,  in  the  service  of 
the  ministry,  there  had  not  been  instances  of  men  who  had 
taken  upon  them  (perhaps  mistakenly)  the  office  of  a  -gos- 
pel minister,  without  waiting  for  the  preparation  and  the 
call.  And  it  would  have  been  still  more  surprising  if  such 
forward  spirits  had  proved  firm  in  the  day  of  outward  trial, 
or  of  inward  fascinations  and  snares  of  the  enemy. 

John  Perrot  was  one  who  at  this  time  caused  great  dis- 
tress and  trouble  to  the  faithful  members  of  the  Society, 
from  giving  way  to  self-importance  and  extravagant  notions. 
He  had  joined  the  Society  early,  and  had  probably  too  soon 
taken  upon  himself  the  ministerial  office.  He  travelled 
considerably,  and  about  the  year  1660  conceived  that  he 
must  go  to  Rome  to  convert  the  Pope.  He  obtained  the 
company  of  John  Love,  and  travelled  as  far  as  Leghorn ; 
Avhere  they  were  both  taken  up  and  examined  by  the  inqui- 
sition. But  the  answers  they  gave  were  so  satisfactory  that 
they  were  soon  dismissed.  Thence  they  proceeded  to  Ven- 
ice, and  afterwards  to  Rome,  where  they  w^ere  soon  again 
apprehended  ;  John  Love  being  put  into  the  inquisition,  and 
John  Perrot  being  shut  up  in  a  madhouse.  The  former, 
w^ho  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  sincere  man,  died  in  prison, 
not  without  suspicion  of  being  murdered  there ;  for  though 
the  officers  of  the  inquisition  gave  out  that  he  had  fasted  to 
death,  some  nuns  are  said  to  have  acknowledged  that  he 
was  privately  dispatched  in  the  night,  for  testifying  against 
their  idolatry.  It  is  clear  that  John  Perrot  was  at  this  time 
exceedingly  puffed  up  with  spiritual  pride ;  for  he  wrote, 
whilst  in  prison,  some  epistles  to  be  printed  in  England,  in 
so  affected  a  style  as  bespoke  him  almost  bewildered  in  his 
mind;  signing  only  his  first  name,  John,  and  otherwise  mak- 
ing very  extravagant  assumptions,  apparently  in  imitation 
of  the  manner  of  writing  of  the  great  apostle  of  Patmos. 


1G62.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


177 


At  length,  through  the  solicitation  of  Friends  to  some 
persons  of  influence  there,  he  was  released  from  confine- 
ment, and  returned  to  England.  And  though  he  had  come 
away  without  having  accomplished  the  object  of  his  mission, 
or  so  far  as  appears,  having  even  seen  the  Pope,  yet  the 
exaggerated  report  of  his  sufferings  abroad,  and  a  great 
appearance  of  sanctity,  gained  him  a  sort  of  compassionate 
affection  and  esteem^dth  weak  minds ;  and  his  self-impor- 
tance increased  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  thought  himself 
further  enlightened  than  George  Fox  and  the  rest  of  his 
friends ;  and  as  an  evidence  of  it,  he  maintained  that  the 
custom  of  putting  off  their  hats  in  joining  in  public  praj^er, 
was  only  a  piece  of  formality,  and  ought  not  to  be  practised. 
The  next  extravagance  he  adopted,  was  to  let  his  beard 
grow,  in  which  he  was  followed  by  several  of  his  partisans. 
George  Fox  and  the  principal  body  of  Friends,  foreseeing 
the  danger  of  the  minds  of  the  members  being  drawn  off 
from  attention  to  the  necessary  work  of  inward  sanctifica- 
tion,  into  contention  about  outward  observances  of  little  or 
no  importance,  exerted  their  endeavors  to  prevent  the 
spreading  of  the  defection.  This,  however,  went  on  for 
some  years,  till  Perrot  manifested  more  clearly,  by  the  in- 
stability and  enormity  of  his  conduct,  the  error  of  his  spirit 
and  the  depravity  of  his  heart.  He  went  to  America,  and 
was  there  led  into  fleshly  liberties,  fantastically  putting  on 
gaudy  apparel,  and  wearing  a  sword  ;  and  under  the  pre- 
tence of  being  above  forms,  went  so  far  at  length  as  to 
reckon  meeting  for  divine  worship  a  form,  and  by  his  ex- 
ample and  doctrine  led  many  to  forsake  the  assembling  of 
themselves  together.  And  after  a  time,  having  obtained 
some  post  under  the  government,  he  who  had  before  pro- 
fessed that  Christ  had  forbidden  all  swearing,  is  said  to 
have  rendered  himself  conspicuous,  as  a  most  rigid  exactor 
of  oaths. 

Perrot's  followers,  as  observed  above,  were  not  without 


178  PIISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1662. 


the  faithful  admonitions  and  warnings  of  their  brethren. 
George  Fox,  ever  alive  to  the  welfare  of  the  flock,  felt  it 
his  duty  to  appoint  a  meeting  in  London  with  those  who 
had  been  seduced  into  this  separation,  and  also  addressed 
them  more  than  once  by  letter,  endeavoring  to  restore  them 
to  a  sound  understanding,  and  to  unity  with  the  body  ;  and 
through  the  divine  blessing  attending  the  labors  of  love 
extended  by  him  and  his  friends,  most  of  these  people  in 
England  were  at  length  recovered,  acknowledged  their 
error,  and  returned  into  the  unity  of  the  Society. 

In  America,  the  wild  notions  which  Perrot  had  sown, 
continued  in  some  places,  for  several  years,  to  bear  bitter 
fruit.  John  Burnyeat,  in  1665,  travelling  in  Virginia, 
found  many  who  had  been  led  astray  into  these  fanciful 
notions.  They  had  almost  forsaken  the  practice  of  meeting 
for  divine  worship,  scarcely  assembling  together  once  a 
year.  Of  course  they  lost  ground  in  religion,  which  was 
manifested  by  a  general  backsliding.  They  had  laid  aside 
the  plainness  of  their  profession  in  dress  and  language,  and 
were  become  loose  and  light  in  their  conduct.  The  offence 
of  the  cross  had  ceased,  and  the  power  of  godliness,  as  well 
as  the  form,  was  lost.  So  that  John  Burnyeat  found  it 
difficult  to  get  a  meeting  with  them.  But  he  was  not  a  man 
whose  zeal  was  easily  discouraged.  When  he  saw  their  re- 
luctance to  grant  him  a  public  meeting,  he  did  not  leave 
them  under  their  delusion,  but  sought  private  opportunities 
with  them,  to  convince  them  of  their  mistakes,  and  to  vin- 
dicate the  principles  and  practice  of  the  Society,  in  dili- 
gently meeting  to  wait  together  upon  God,  and  endeavoring 
to  walk  before  Him  in  all  orderly  conversation  and  sobriety, 
and  to  fulfil  all  their  social  and  moral  duties  among  man- 
kind. By  perseverance  in  repeated  visits  and  conferences 
of  this  kind,  he  at  length  obtained  a  meeting  with  them  ; 
which  being  favored  with  the  overshadowing  of  divine 
power,  was  very  conducive  to  open  the  understandings  of 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


179 


several  to  perceive  their  error,  and  to  the  revival  of  more 
regard  to  their  religious  duties.  And  by  the  continuance 
of  his  gospel  labors,  and  the  renewed  convictions  of  the 
Spirit  of  Truth  in  their  hearts,  many  came  in  time  to  see 
through  the  wiles  of  the  enemy,  and  to  be  again  serviceable 
in  the  Society.  Some  years  afterwards,  returning  to  Vir- 
ginia, he  found  an  open  door  for  his  labors,  and  was  suc- 
cessful in  promoting  among  them  the  establishment  of 
meetings  for  discipline,  for  the  further  help  of  those  who 
had  not  yet  been  entirely  reclaimed. 

After  this,  travelling  in  Kew  England,  at  Salem  he  met 
with  the  devastating  eflects  of  the  same  spirit.  But  patiently 
laboring  among  them,  several  had  their  consciences  so 
awakened,  as  to  let  them  also  see  their  mistake,  condemn 
it,  and  return  into  unity  with  the  body. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RISE  OF  THE  ."^OCIETY  IX  SCOTLAND. 

HAVING  traced  the  origin  of  the  people  called  Qua- 
kers in  England,  and  noticed  the  foothold  which  they 
had  now  obtained  on  the  continent  of  America  and  some 
of  the  West  India  islands,  we  may  next  turn  our  attention 
to  the  progress  of  pure,  evangelical  truth  in  Scotland. 

There  were  scattered  in  various  parts  of  that  country, 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  pious  individ- 
uals, who,  weary  and  hea^^^-laden  under  a  sense  of  their 
own  manifold  shortcomings,  believed  there  was  to  be  knoAvn 
a  more  purely  spiritual  way  of  worship  and  of  life  and 
conduct,  than  that  to  which  they,  or  any  with  whose  pro- 


180 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1654-9. 


fession  they  were  acquainted,  had  attained.  Being  greatly 
burdened  with  the  formality,  superstition,  and  will-worship 
prevalent  around  them,  under  which  the  public  preachers 
generally  detained  their  hearers,  these  serious  inquirers  had 
separated  from  the  several  congregations  of  the  people; 
and  at  length  some  of  them  began  to  meet  together  by 
them.selves,  waiting  upon  God  in  a  holy  silence  and  deep 
humility  of  soul,  for  ability  to  draw  near  to  him  in  true 
spiritual  worship.  They  were  thus  at  times  made  sensible 
of  the  quickening  virtue,  power,  and  life  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
enabling  some  of  them  to  speak  forth  the  praises  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  from  an  inward  experience  of  His  goodness,  to 
extend  instrumentally  a  hand  of  help  to  others. 

Such  religious  meetings  appear  to  have  been  held  at 
Drumbowy  and  Heads,  in  the  south  of  Scotland,  as  early 
as  the  year  1653;  and  the  first  preachers  thus  raised  up 
among  them  were  William  Osborne,  a  colonel  in  the  army, 
Richard  Rae  and  Alexander  Hamilton.  These  meetings 
had  been  established  a  full  year,  before  any  in  actual  con- 
nection with  Friends  found  them  out  and  visited  them. 
The  feet  of  several  gospel  messengers  were,  however,  soon 
turned  in  this  direction,  as  Christopher  Fell,  George  Wilson, 
John  Grave,  George  Atkinson,  Sarah  Cheevers,  and  Cath- 
arine Evans.  In  1654,  Myles  Halhead,  and  James  Lancaster, 
and  in  1655,  William  Caton,  and  John  Stubbs,  travelled 
into  Scotland ;  and  George  Fox  was  at  Edinburgh  in  1657. 
James  Nayler  is  supposed  to  have  preached  in  some  parts 
of  Scotland  as  early  as  1651 ;  but  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  fallen  in  with  the  above-mentioned  little  flock.  John 
Burnyeat  was  led  to  travel  as  far  north  as  Aberdeen,  in 
1658,  and  met  with  some  meetings  of  Friends  ;  and  in  1659, 
Stephen  Crisp,  of  Essex,  who  had  then  recently  come  forth 
in  the  ministry,  found  it  laid  upon  him  by  his  Divine 
Master,  "  to  go  and  bear  witness  to  His  name  in  Scotland, 
that  high  professing  nation."    "  Oh  ! "  says  he,   "  how  I 


1662.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


181 


would  have  pleaded  my  own  inability,  the  care  of  my  family, 
my  service  in  that  particular  meeting,  and  many  more  things; 
and  all,  that  I  might  have  been  excused  from  this  one 
thing.  But  after  many  reasonings,  days  and  weeks  by  my- 
self, I  thought  it  best  to  speak  of  it  to  some  of  the  faithful 
elders  and  ministers  of  the  everlasting  gospel,  not  knowing 
but  they  might  discourage  me ;  but  they  laid  it  upon  me  to 
be  faithful.  The  winter  drew  nigh,  and  something  [in  my 
mind]  would  have  deferred  it  till  next  summer ;  but  the 
Lord  showed  me  it  was  not  to  be  my  time,  but  his  time. 
Then,  I  would  have  gone  by  sea ;  but  the  Lord  withstood 
me,  and  showed  me  it  must  not  be  my  way,  but  his  way ; 
and  if  I  would  be  obedient,  he  would  be  with  me  and  pros- 
per my  journey  ;  otherwise  his  hand  would  strike  me.  So  I 
gave  up  all,  and  with  cheerfulness  obeyed,  went  forth,  and 
visited  the  churches  of  Christ.  I  quickly  perceived  that 
the  Lord  was  with  me; — my  journey  became  joyful; — in 
every  place,  my  testimony  was  owned,  and  divers  were  con- 
vinced of  the  everlasting  Truth.  I  got  into  Scotland  in 
the  ]S'inth  month,  and  travelled  to  and  fro  that  winter,  on 
foot,  with  cheerfulness — and  in  about  five  or  six  months 
time,  was,  by  the  good  hand  of  God,  brought  home  to  my 
wife,  and  children,  and  relations  ;  in  all  my  journey  having 
been  sweetly  accompanied  with  the  presence  of  the  Lord ; 
and  his  power  often  filled  my  earthen  vessel,  and  made  my 
cup  to  overflow.  Praises  forever  to  his  name!  saith  my 
soul." 

The  gospel  messages  of  these  and  other  zealous  ministers, 
reached  the  consciences  of  many  who  heard  them  ;  yet 
with  regard  to  Aberdeen  and  the  district  thereabouts,  no 
open  espousal  of  the  principles  of  Friends  took  place,  until 
William  Dewsbury  Avas  drawn,  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
1GG2,  in  love  to  these  prepared  and  panting  souls,  to  pro- 
claim among  them  "  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,"  even 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  by  the  law  of 
10 


182 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1663. 


the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus.  Thus  was  the  remarkable 
work  of  convincement  —  which  had  been  secretly  going  on 
in  some  hearts  for  several  years,  through  many  deep  con- 
flicts of  spirit,  —  helped  forward  to  such  a  point,  that  they 
were  made  willing  to  take  up  the  daily  cross,  though  in 
various  respects  as  bitter  as  death,  and  to  follow  the  guid- 
ance of  Christ  by  his  Spirit  within  them,  whithersoever  he 
should  be  pleased  to  lead.  Alexander  JafFray,  formerly 
chief  magistrate  of  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  and  one  of  the 
foremost  in  this  little  but  noble  band,  declared  that  when 
first  he  heard  that  God  had  raised  up  a  people  in  England, 
directing  all  to  His  pure  light.  Spirit,  and  grace  in  their 
own  hearts,  as  the  most  sure  Teacher  and  Leader  into  all 
truth,  religion,  and  worship.  Ids  very  heart  did  leap  within 
him  for  joy. 

George  Gray,  a  poor  weaver,  but  a  man  of  very  good  re- 
pute for  sincerity  and  the  correctness  of  his  life,  was 
another  of  the  early  instruments  in  gathering  the  church 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Aberdeen.  He  received  from  his 
Divine  Master  a  gift  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel ;  and 
though  poor  as  to  this  world,  and  barely  acquainted  with 
the  very  rudiments  of  learning,  the  word  of  God's  wisdom 
dwelt  richly  in  him,  and  his  understanding  became  much 
enlarged  in  heavenly  experience.  And  being,  through 
watchfulness,  preserved  and  directed  in  the  exercise  of  his 
ministerial  gift,  he  was  made  instrumental  to  the  edification 
and  great  refreshment  of  the  Lord's  heritage.  Many  indeed 
confessed  their  admiration  at  the  excellent  matter,  utterance 
and  connection  observed  in  the  preaching  of  one  so  devoid 
of  human  learning,  and  yet  so  thoroughly  furnished,  in  all 
respects,  unto  his  holy  calling.  Thus  was  clearly  held  up 
to  view,  what  it  is  that  constitutes  the  best  adorning  of 
gospel  ministers,  and  what  is  the  only  right  qualification  for 
speaking  "  as  the  oracles  of  God." 

Nancy  Sim,  who  was  also  in  low  pecuniary  circumstances, 


1666.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


183 


readily  opened  her  house,  at  a  place  called  Ardiharrald,  for 
religious  meetings.  But  the  people  flocked  to  them  so 
greatly,  that  her  house  would  by  no  means  contain  them ; 
and  they  were  often  obliged  to  meet  in  the  open  field.  Thus 
did  the  word  of  the  Lord  prevail ;  and  such  as  were  made 
willing  to  yield  to  it,  esteemed  it  more  than  their  necessary 
food ;  so  that  they  could  unite  with  the  prophet  Jeremiah, 
in  acknowledging :  "  Thy  word  was  unto  me  the  joy  and 
rejoicing  of  my  heart." 

But  the  principal  instrument  in  these  parts,  for  the  gath- 
ering of  many  from  the  barren  mountains  of  an  empty 
profession,  to  feed  in  the  green  pastures  of  life,  under  the 
leadings  of  the  Shepherd  of  Israel,  was  Patrick  Livingston. 
He  was  convinced  about  the  year  1659,  when  about  twenty- 
five  years  of  age ;  and  three  years  afterwards,  coming  north- 
wards in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  from  Montrose,  his  native 
place,  he  was  the  means  of  planting  a  flourishing  meeting 
of  Friends  at  Kinmuck,  which  afterwards  grew  to  be  the 
largest  in  the  nation. 

The  public  preachers  of  the  established  form  of  religion 
now  took  the  alarm,  and  a  series  of  persecutions  soon  com- 
menced, with  the  intention  of  destroying  this  vigorous  young 
plant  which  was  growing  up  within  their  precincts.  But 
the  more  they  trampled  it  under  their  feet,  the  more  did  it 
spread  its  verdure  abroad,  to  their  discomfiture,  and  the 
opening  of  the  eyes  of  many  to  see  the  emptiness  of  their 
pretensions  as  teachers  of  the  people,  and  the  inconsistency 
of  their  practice  with  the  mild  and  lovely  features  of  the 
Christian  life. 

In  the  year  1666,  Colonel  David  Barclay,  of  Ury,  and  his 
son  Robert,  openly  attached  themselves  to  the  Society, 
refusing  the  glory  of  this  world,  and  the  various  opportuni- 
ties within  their  grasp,  of  gratifying  "  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life;"  and  accepting 
cheerfully  "the  reproach  of  Christ,"  becoming  fools  for  his 
Mike,  that  so  they  might  be  "  to  the  praise  of  his  glory." 


184 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1666. 


David  Barclay  was  bom  in  1610,  at  Kirktounhill,  in 
Scotland,  and  received  a  liberal  education.  Growing  up  to 
man's  estate,  he  travelled  into  Germany,  and  enlisted  in  the 
army  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  king  of  Sweden ;  but  after 
being  engaged  in  many  battles,  he  returned  home  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  wars  in  his  native  country.  In 
1646,  having  attained  to  the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the  Scottish 
forces,  he  was  sent  with  an  army  to  quell  an  insurrection  of 
the  Earl  of  Crawford,  whom  he  entirely  routed ;  and  after 
being  for  several  years  successfully  engaged  in  various  mili- 
tary expeditions,  was  made  governor  of  Strathboggie,  then 
a  place  of  much  strength.  He  soon  after  married  Catharine 
Gordon,  grand-daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Sutherland,  and  third 
cousin  to  King  James  I.  of  Great  Britain.  He  continued  to 
occupy  a  prominent  station  in  the  Scotch  army  for  several 
years,  until  the  success  of  the  republican  party  placed  them 
in  temporary  possession  of  the  reins  of  government.  He 
was  soon  afterwards  elected  member  of  Parliament,  where 
he  vigorously  opposed  the  project  for  Oliver  Cromwell's 
being  made  king.  After  this,  he  disentangled  himself  from 
public  affairs,  and  retired  into  a  life  of  privacy.  His  retire- 
ment from  the  world  afforded  an  opportunity  for  becoming 
acquainted  with  himself,  and  with  the  uncertainty  of  all 
temporal  things.  He  was  now  between  fifty  and  sixty  years 
of  age ;  and  thought  it  high  time  for  him  who  had  spent  so 
many  years  in  the  service  of  the  public,  to  bestow  the 
remainder  of  his  life  wholly  in  that  of  his  Creator.  He 
betook  himself  to  a  close  reading  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
was  brought  clearly  to  see  that  the  religion  of  Christ,  "  was 
righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost "  —  that 
it  taught  to  be  humble,  patient,  self-denying, — to  endure 
and  suffer  all  things, — and  not  to  place  our  happiness  or 
comfort  on  this  world,  or  the  things  of  it. 

He  now  heard  of  a  people,  who,  under  great  reproach  for 
singularity  and  abstractedness  from  the  world,  bore,  in  much 


1666.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


185 


plainness  and  simplicity,  a  remarkable  testimony  both  in 
their  Avords  and  practice,  against  the  follies  and  vanities  of 
the  world  ;  and  he  considered,  that  if  they  were  really  such 
as  even  their  enemies  acknowledged,  there  must  be  some- 
what extraordinary  about  them.  Accordingly,  Avitli  the 
greatest  earnestness  did  he  enter  into  an  examination  rela- 
tive to  thu  way,  which  was  indeed  "everywhere  spoken 
against."  And  being  in  London,  he  conversed  with  several 
Friends,  whereby  his  mind  became  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  their  principles.  Some  months  afterwards,  being,  on  a 
baseless  political  pretence  connected  with  his  former  public 
career,  imprisoned  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  along  with  the 
Laird  of  Swintoune,  who  had  zealously  embraced  the  views 
of  Friends,  he  was  still  further  confirmed  in  his  belief  of 
their  accordance  with  primitive  Christianity.  His  imprison- 
ment took  place  soon  after  the  decease  of  his  wife,  about  the 
year  1663 ;  and  in  1666,  he  openly  connected  himself  in 
membership  with  the  Society"  of  Friends ;  and  eventually 
became  eminent  for  his  religious  and  exemplary  life,  as  he 
had  before  been  for  military  bravery.  He  had  formerly 
been  much  unacquainted  with  the  virtue  of  Christian  meek- 
ness, and  patient  endurance  of  injuries :  but  now,  when 
Friends  were  often  mobbed  by  the  very  dregs  of  the  com- 
munity, it  was  remarkable  that  none  bore  these  indignities 
with  greater  calmness  than  David  Barclay.  One  of  his  rela- 
tions lamenting  that  he  should  now  be  treated  so  differently 
from  what  he  formerly  had  been  ;  he  answered,  that  he  found 
more  satisfaction  in  being  thus  insulted  for  his  religious  prin- 
ciples, than  when,  some  years  before,  it  was  usual  for  the 
magistrates,  as  he  passed  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  to  meet  him 
several  miles,  and  conduct  him  to  a  public  entertainment  in 
their  town-house,  and  then  convey  him  so  far  out  again,  in 
order  to  gain  his  favor.  His  humility  and  sincerity  as  to 
religion  was  most  remarkable  in  his  whole  conduct;  and 
16* 


186 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1666. 


his  deportment  is  said  to  have  been  particularly  awful  and 
striking,  when  engaged  in  public  prayer. 

His  son  Robert  was  born  in  1648,  and  having  from  a  child 
the  appearance  of  a  promising  genius,  was  sent  by  his  father 
to  finish  his  education,  at  the  Scotch  college  at  Paris,  of 
which  his  uncle  was  rector.  Here  he  became  so  great  a 
favorite,  and  made  such  proficiency,  that  his  uncle  desired 
to  adopt  him,  and  offered  to  make  him  heir  to  his  large 
estate,  if  he  would  consent  to  remain.  His  father,  however, 
in  his  seventeenth  year,  fearing,  and  not  without  reason,  lest 
he  might  become  tainted  with  the  superstitions  of  Popery, 
went  to  Paris  to  bring  him  home.  His  uncle  still  endeavored 
to  prevent  his  return,  and  offered  to  present  to  him  imme- 
diately, an  estate  greater  than  his  paternal  one.  But  mind- 
ful of  his  filial  duty,  Robert  replied,  "  he  is  my  father,  and 
must  be  obeyed;"  and  the  uncle,  disappointed,  left  his 
property  to  the  college,  and  to  other  religious  institutions  in 
France. 

It  was  in  1664,  that  he  returned  to  Scotland ;  and  having 
strictly  examined  into  the  principles  of  Friends,  he  soon 
found  himself  constrained,  upon  the  same  ground  of  real 
conviction  as  his  father  had  been,  to  embrace  their  doctrine 
and  life.  One  of  his  intimate  friends  has  testified  that  this 
change  was  not  consummated  through  the  means  of  outward 
instruments ;  but  that  in  one  of  their  meetings,  he  was 
effectually  "  reached  in  the  time  of  silence,"  and  made  to 
bow  before  the  Truth.  He  himself  declares,  that  he  "  came 
to  receive  and  bear  witness  to  the  Truth,"  "  not  by  strength 
of  argument,  or  by  a  particular  disquisition  of  each  doctrine, 
and  convinceraent  of  the  understanding  thereby ;  hut  by 
being  secretly  reached  by  this  life.  For,  when  I  came  into 
the  silent  assemblies  of  God's  people,  I  felt  a  secret  power 
amongst  them  which  touched  my  heart ;  and  as  I  gave  way 
unto  it,  I  found  the  evil  weakening  in  me,  and  the  good 
raised  up ;  and  so  I  became  thus  knit  and  united  unto  them, 


1670.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


187 


hungering  more  and  more  after  the  increase  of  this  power 
and  life,  whereby  I  might  find  myself  perfectly  redeemed." 

Thus  did  he  travail  in  spirit  for  his  soul's  delivery  out  of 
the  power  and  bondage  of  corruption,  "into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God;"  and  through  great  love, 
watchfulness,  and  fidelity  to  the  inward  appearance  of  Jesus 
Christ  by  his  light  and  Spirit,  he  early  came  forth  a  zealous 
and  able  witness  thereof ;  taking  up  his  cross  to  the  glory 
and  friendship  of  this  world,  and  "  esteeming  the  reproach 
of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt." 
Thus  he  rapidly  advanced  to  such  a  growth  in  grace  and 
saving  knowledge,  as  has  been  the  admiration  of  many ; 
and  it  was  not  long,  before  he  was  called  to  the  public  min- 
istry of  the  Gospel. 

About  the  year  1670,  he  married  Christian  Molleson,  a 
young  woman  who  had,  through  much  suffering  and  hard- 
ship, publicly  embraced  the  principles  of  Friends,  in  her 
sixteenth  year.  But  though  he  was  now  favored  with  the 
greatest  of  all  temporal  blessings,  a  pious  and  devoted  part- 
ner, yet  he  did  not  consider  himself  at  liberty  to  surrender 
up  the  ripening  powers  of  manhood  to  selfish  ease  or  supine- 
ness.  Indeed,  he  seemed  to  receive  the  gifts  of  a  gracious 
Providence,  as  fresh  signals  for  grateful  and  vigorous  en- 
gagement in  the  warfare  of  the  Christian  life.  He  was  not 
only  diligent  in  laboring  in  the  ministry  which  he  had  re- 
ceived, but  also  remarkably  drawn  forth  to  advocate,  by  a 
divinely  guided  pen,  the  simple  principles  of  the  pure  re- 
ligion which  he  professed.  His  works,  which  were  all  pub- 
lished within  nine  years  after  his  marriage,  and  when  he 
was  between  the  ages  of  twenty-two  and  thirty-one  years, 
formed,  when  collected,  a  folio  volume  of  nine  hundred 
pages.  His  "  Catechism  and  Confession  of  Faith "  ap- 
peared in  1673 ;  about  a  year  afterwards,  he  wrote  a 
Treatise  on  Christian  Discipline,  entitled  "  The  Anarchy  of 
the  Ranters,"  t^c;  and  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age, 


188 


HTSTORTCAL    MEMOIRS  OF 


[1672. 


he  published  (first  in  Latin)  his  celebrated  "  Apology  for 
the  True  Christian  Divinity,  as  held  by  the  people  called 
Quakers;"  a  work  surpassed  by  no  modern  disquisitions  of 
religious  doctrine ;  a  work  which  has  never  been  refuted  ; 
and  an  argumentative  declaration  of  pure  Christian  prin- 
ciples, which  can  scarcely  fail  to  bring  conviction  to  the 
candid  mind,  seriously  seeking  the  truth. 

In  common  with  many  of  his  fellow-laborers  in  the  glo- 
rious cause  of  spirituality  and  real  holiness,  Robert  Barclay 
came  under  that  humbling  description  of  exercise  and 
service,  which  often  engaged  them  to  testify,  in  various 
ways,  against  the  unsound,  mixed,  and  even  corrupt  pro- 
fession of  religion,  so  much  prevailing  in  the  world ;  and 
he  gave  up  to  obey  the  call  to  some  hard  and  weighty  re- 
quisitions of  this  kind  ;  sometimes  visiting  the  congregations 
of  such  people,  with  a  word  of  warning  or  of  rebuke.  On 
one  occasion  in  particular,  in  the  year  1672,  he  was  con- 
strained, under  a  strong  sense  of  duty,  to  pass  through  three 
of  the  principal  streets  of  Aberdeen,  clothed  in  sackcloth^ 
and  exhorting  the  people  to  repentance.  After  he  had  thus 
submitted  to  become  "  a  spectacle  to  men,"  he  wrote  an 
address  to  the  inhabitants,  declaring  the  still  extended  love 
of  God  to  be  waiting  for  their  souls,  and  desiring  to  lead 
them  by  His  Light  and  Spirit  revealed  in  their  hearts,  "  out 
of  all  unrighteousness  and  filthiness  of  flesh  and  spirit, 
unto  all  righteousness,  truth,  holiness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost."  He  reminded  them  that  many  among  them 
had  despised  the  meek  and  lowly  appearance  of  God's  wit- 
ness in  their  hearts :  "  Therefore,"  says  he,  "  was  I  com- 
manded of  the  Lord  God,  to  pass  through  your  streets  covered 
with  sackcloth  and  ashes,  calling  you  to  repentance."  .  .  . 

 "And  some  whom  I  called,  to  declare  unto  them 

this  thing,  can  bear  witness,  how  great  was  the  agony  of 
my  spirit, — how  I  besought  the  Lord  with  tears,  that  this 
cup  might  pass  away  from  me! — yea,  how  the  pillars  of 


1672.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


189 


my  tabernacle  were  shaken,  and  how  exceedingly  my  bones 
trembled,  until  I  freely  gave  up  unto  the  Lord's  will.  And 
this  was  the  end  and  tendency  of  my  testimony,  to  call  you 
to  repentance  by  this  signal  and  singular  step ;  which  I,  as 
'to  my  own  will  and  inclination,  was  as  unwilling  to  be 
found  in,  as  the  w^orst  and  most  wicked  of  you  can  be 
averse  from  receiving  or  laying  it  to  heart."  And  after  an 
earnest  and  affectionate  expostulation,  he  thus  concludes : 
"  I  have  peace  with  my  God  in  what  I  have  done,  and  am 
satisfied  that  his  requirings  I  have  answered  in  this  thing.  I 
have  not  sought  yours,  but  you  ;  nor  entertain  evil  towards 
any ;  but  continue  in  pure  and  unfeigned  love  towards  all ; 
being  ready  to  '  bless  those  that  curse ;  *  to  *  do  good  to  those 
that  despitefully  use '  me ;  and  to  be  spent  in  the  will  of  the 
Lord  for  your  sakes,  that  your  souls  may  be  saved,  and  God 
over  all  may  be  glorified !  for  which  I  travail  and  cry  be- 
fore the  throne  of  Grace,  as  becometh  a  servant  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

It  is  remarkable  that  most  of  the  persecutions  of  the 
early  Friends  were  instigated  by  the  jealousy  of  the  pro- 
fessed teachers  of  religion ;  w^ho  were  keen-sighted  enough 
to  perceive,  that  the  success  of  the  principles  of  the  new 
Society  would  give  a  mortal  blow  to  the  hireling  system,  by 
which  they  lived  upon  the  credulity  and  money  of  the  peo- 
ple. Kobert  Barclay's  marriage  was  one  of  the  circum- 
stances which  greatly  raised  their  anger.  In  this  important 
undertaking,  he  could  not  swerve  from  his  principles,  and 
by  submitting  to  the  common  mode  of  accomplishing  his 
marriage,  sanction  the  unholy  trade  in  religious  things.  In 
accordance  therefore  with  the  practice  of  the  Society,  his 
marriage  was  solemnly  accomplished  in  an  assembly  of  his 
Friends  and  others,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Most  High. 
The  public  preachers  were  so  much  exasperated  at  this 
neglect  of  their  authority,  that  they  procured  letters  to 
summon  him  before  the  Privy  Council,  for  an  unlawful 


190 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1672. 


marriage  ;  though  they  never  had  power  to  put  their  threats 
in  execution  against  him. 

Another  matter  which  much  provoked  the  priests,  and 
nearly  allied  to  the  above,  was  the  practice  of  Friends  in 
burying  their  dead,  to  abstain  from  all  the  customary  per- 
formances of  ministers  appointed  by  man,  and  acting  under 
the  promptings  of  man's  will  and  judgment.  This  also  struck 
at  the  emoluments  of  the  clergy,  as  they  arrogantly  named 
themselves,  and  afresh  excited  their  jealousy  and  rage.  By 
their  influence  with  the  magistrates,  in  1672,  they  procured 
the  destruction  of  the  walls  of  Friends'  burial-ground  at 
Aberdeen,  in  which  a  child  of  one  of  the  members  had 
been,  a  few  days  before,  interred.  The  body  was  taken  up, 
the  coffin  shamefully  broken  open,  and  carried  for  re-inter- 
ment to  a  neighboring  village.  They  continued  to  remove 
every  corpse  that  was  interred  in  that  ground,  until  by 
means  of  a  representation  made  to  the  King's  Council,  they 
were  checked  in  this  uncommon  inhumanity.  They  found, 
however,  other  means  to  persecute  this  innocent  people, 
often  casting  them  into  prison  for  their  faithful  attendance 
of  their  religious  meetings,  and  fining  them  for  non-pay- 
ment of  the  hire  of  the  priests.  But  through  all,  Friends 
in  Scotland  continued  to  increase,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  meetings  were  soon  established  in  various  parts  of 
the  country. 


1663.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


191 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ACCOUNT  OF  THOMAS  LTJRTING  AND  THE  ALGERINE  PIRATES. 

THE  Christian  behavior  of  Thomas  Lurting  under  very 
trying  and  dangerous  circumstances,  in  the  year  1663, 
was  of  too  remarkable  a  character  to  be  passed  over  in 
silence,  illustrating  as  the  narrative  does,  the  contrast 
between  that  spirit  which  seeks  the  destruction  of  our  fellow- 
creatures,  and  that  which  breathes  "  peace  on  earth  and  good 
will  to  men." 

Thomas  Lurting,  in  early  life,  occupied  the  station  of 
boatswain's  mate  in  a  man-of-war  under  Admiral  Blake ;  in 
which  occupation  he  eminently  displayed  those  qualities 
which  are  by  men  of  this  world  called  bravery  and  courage  ; 
and  being  accordingly  put  into  the  post  of  danger,  he  met 
with  many  remarkable  preservations  of  his  life  in  times  of 
close  engagement  in  battle. 

About  the  year  1654,  several  of  the  ship's  company  were 
favored  with  a  divine  visitation  to  their  minds,  under  which 
some  of  them  became  convinced  in  degree  of  the  principles 
of  Friends,  and  began  to  decline  hearing  the  hired  services 
of  the  chaplain  of  the  vessel,  and  to  meet  in  silence  among 
themselves.  Thomas  was  informed  of  this  by  the  priest,  and 
his  passions  being  excited  by  this  man's  false  representations 
of  them,  he  fell  to  beating  and  cruelly  abusing  his  ship- 
mates, when  he  found  them  thus  religiously  met  together  to 
wait  on  the  Most  High.  This  conduct  however  was  far  from 
producing  ease  of  mind.  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  soon 
overtook  him,  and  he  became  exceedingly  distressed  with 
what  he  had  done ;  and  dwelling  under  the  condemnation, 
he  became  more  and  more  enlightened,  to  perceive  his  own 


192 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1663. 


state  of  alienation  from  God ;  his  heart  became  tendered  and 
broken ;  and  he  sought  for  retirement,  that  he  might  freely 
pour  out  the  burden  of  his  contrited  soul  to  the  Lord.  This 
change  was  observed  by  the  ship's  crew,  so  that  at  length  it 
came  to  his  share  to  be  mocked  and  ridiculed. 

Being  alone  one  evening  waiting  on  the  Lord,  and  earnestly 
seeking  to  know  his  duty,  it  was  clearly  shown  him  that  he 
must  join  himself  to  that  little  band  whom  he  had  so  often 
abused.  Remembering  his  aversion  to  them,  and  his  con- 
tempt of  their  apparently  foolish  way  of  religion,  he  felt  as 
if  he  would  rather  give  up  his  natural  life  than  comply  in 
so  repulsive  a  matter.  But  the  Lord  reminded  him  of  his 
many  wonderful  preservations;  which  mollified  his  heart, 
and  being  still  followed  by  inward  reproofs  and  judgments, 
he  came  at  length,  after  much  struggling,  to  the  conclusion, 
that  "  whether  Quaker  or  no  Quaker,  he  was  for  peace  with 
God."  After  a  while,  he  opened  some  of  his  feelings  to  one 
of  them,  named  Roger  Dennis,  and  when  First-day  came,  he 
resolved  to  go  to  the  little  meeting  on  board,  which  was  now 
of  six  in  number.  It  soon  got  wind  among  the  sailors,  that 
Thomas  was  among  the  Quakers ;  and  many  of  the  ship's 
company  leaving  their  own  worship  to  look  at  him,  greatly 
disturbed  the  quiet  of  their  little  gathering.  He  was  sum- 
moned after  this,  before  the  captain  and  priest,  but  their 
arguments  only  tended  to  confirm  him  in  the  rectitude  of  his 
present  position ;  and  continuing  to  meet  with  his  friends, 
some  others  also  joined  them,  so  that  in  less  than  six  months, 
their  number  was  doubled. 

Hitherto  Thomas  and  his  friends  had  not  perceived  the 
inconsistency  of  war  with  true  religion.  Their  minds  how- 
ever were  undergoing  the  process  of  preparation  for  seeing 
more  clearly  the  peaceable  nature  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom 
in  the  heart,  and  they  declined  partaking  of  any  of  the  booty 
seized  in  skirmishes  with  the  enemy.  They  were  caressed 
by  many  on  board,  as  brave  and  useful  men ;  and  indeed 


1668.] 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRTEXDS. 


193 


tliey  displayed  such  alacrity  and  boldness  in  fulfilling  the 
requisitions  of  their  officers,  that  the  captain  said  he  cared 
not  if  all  his  men  were  Quakers,  for  they  were  the  hardiest 
men  in  his  ship.  But  it  was  not  long  before  their  duty  was 
clearly  manifested  to  them  in  this  particular,  and  then  came 
a  time  of  close  trial. 

This  occurred  while  tney  were  bombarding  a  castle  at  or 
near  the  town  of  Barcelona.  Thomas  and  his  friends  vrere 
fighting  with  as  much  earnestness  as  any,  and  the  vessel 
being  annoyed  by  the  shots  fired  from  one  corner  of  the 
castle,  he  proposed  to  beat  down  that  part  of  it ;  and  went 
into  the  forecastle,  stripped  to  the  waist,  to  level  the  ship's 
guns  towards  that  spot.  This  being  done,  he  was  coming 
out  of  the  forecastle  to  see  where  the  shot  would  fall,  when 
suddenly  the  query  ran  through  his  mind,  "  AVhat  if  now 
thou  killest  a  man  ? "  This  struck  him  instantly  with  strong 
emotions  ;  and  He  who  alone  can  turn  the  hearts  of  men,  so 
suddenly  and  completely  changed  his  views,  that  he  imme- 
diately felt  that  he  must  not  proceed  in  the  destruction  of 
his  fellow-creatures,  even  if  it  were  to  gain  the  whole  world. 
Putting  on  his  clothes,  he  walked  the  deck,  as  if  he  had  not 
seen  a  gun  fired ;  and  being  under  great  mental  exercise, 
some  asked  him  if  he  were  hurt.  He  replied,  "  No  ;  but 
under  some  scruple  of  conscience  on  the  account  of  fighting." 
Though  he  knew  not  at  that  time  that  this  was  one  of  the 
doctrines  held  by  Friends,  yet  he  clearly  saw  that  they  who 
had  been  so  active  in  fighting  must  now  bear  their  testimony 
against  it,  and  abide  the  consequences.  Soon  afterwards, 
one  of  his  friends  also  informed  the  captain  that  he  could 
no  longer  continue  to  fight.  The  latter  threatened  to  run 
liis  sword  into  any  one  who  refused  to  fight  in  time  of 
engagement,  and  severely  beat  the  friend  with  his  fist  and 
cane,  for  attempting  to  reason  with  him  upon  it. 

Some  time  after  this,  Avhile  cruising  in  the  Mediterranean, 
a  ship  was  diricovered  bearing  down  upon  them,  supposed  to 
17 


194 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OP 


[1663. 


be  a  Spanish  man-of-war.  Orders  were  of  course  given,  to 
prepare  the  ship  for  an  engagement ;  and  Thomas,  who  saw 
that  a  time  of  trial  was  approaching  for  himself  and  friends, 
called  them  together,  and  encouraged  them  to  faithfulness 
to  their  convictions;  and  at  the  same  time  exhorted  them 
not  to  deceive  the  captain,  who  placed  confidence  in  them, 
but  publicly  to  show  him,  in  good  time  before  the  engage- 
ment, what  their  intentions  were.  His  friends  agreeing  with 
him,  collected  round  the  capstan,  and  one  of  them  informed 
the  lieutenant  that  he  could  no  longer  fight.  This  w^as  im- 
mediately reported  to  the  captain,  who  came  furiously  down 
upon  him,  flung  his  hat  overboard,  and  taking  him  by  the 
collar,  beat  him  with  a  great  cane,  and  dragged  him  to  his 
quarters.  He  then  retired  to  the  half-deck,  called  for  his 
sword,  and  drew  it  with  great  passion.  Thomas  now  felt 
constrained  to  go  to  him,  and  under  great  exercise  of  mind 
turned  round  to  his  friend  Roger  Dennis,  and  said,  "  I  must 
go  to  the  captain:"  to  which  Roger  returned,  "Be  well 
satisfied  in  what  thou  doest."  Thomas  replied,  that  there 
was  a  necessity  laid  upon  him ;  and  then  seeing  the  captain 
coming  forward  with  his  drawn  sword,  he  stepped  tow^ards 
him,  keeping  his  eye  fixed  upon  him  in  much  seriousness, 
and  his  mind  intent  upon  the  secret  pointings  of  the  Divine 
finger.  The  captain  saw  him  ;  was  struck  with  the  authority 
in  which  he  came ;  his  countenance  turned  pale ;  and  turn- 
ing away,  he  gave  his  sword  to  an  attendant,  and  Avent  off. 
The  ship  which  they  had  taken  for  an  enemy,  soon  proved 
to  belong  to  a  friendly  nation,  and  the  captain,  ashamed  of 
his  conduct,  sent  the  priest  before  night  to  apologize  to 
Thomas  for  his  passionate  behavior.  Thus  was  the  latter 
preserved  through  outward  dangers  and  inward  trials  of 
faith,  until  at  length  he  got  safe  home. 

Now  leaving  ships  of  war,  his  subsequent  voyages  w^ere  in 
merchant-vessels ;  but  from  these  lie  was  several  times 
pressed  into  the  king's  service ;  and  being  carried  on  board 


1668.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


195 


the  men-of-war,  he  suffered  greatly  for  not  feeling  himself  at 
liberty  to  do  any  work  on  board  such  vessels.  On  one  occa- 
sion, the  captain  of  the  ship  on  board  of  which  he  was  carried, 
was  very  violent,  threatening  either  to  hang  him  or  take  him 
before  the  Duke  of  York,  for  not  being  willing  to  do  any 
work  on  board;  but  the  next  night  being  exceedingly 
troubled  in  mind  on  his  prisoner's  account,  he  sent  for  "  the 
Quaker"  in  haste,  and  put  him  ashore,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  rest  peaceably  in  his  bed. 

In  the  year  1663,  Thomas  Lurting  being  mate  of  a  vessel 
commanded  by  a  Friend,  they  Avere  chased  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean by  an  Algerine  j^irate ;  which  coming  up  with  them, 
compelled  the  captain  and  several  of  the  men  to  come  on 
board  their  vessel,  leaving  only  Thomas  with  three  men  and 
a  boy  behind.  The  Algeriues  then  put  about  fourteen  of 
their  own  men  aboard  the  English  ship.  While  they  were 
coming  in  the  boat,  Thomas  was  under  great  exercise  of 
mind,  not  knowing  what  the  event  might  be ;  but  retiring 
mentally  to  the  Lord  his  ever  gracious  Preserver,  he  felt  an 
inward  assurance  that  he  should  not  be  carried  to  Algiers, 
as  many  were,  and  sold  into  slavery.  His  confidence  in 
divine  protection  was  renewed,  and  meeting  the  Algerines 
at  the  ship's  side,  he  received  them  in  a  friendly  manner, 
and  showed  them  the  vessel  and  cargo.  The  pirates  also 
behaved  towards  him  personally  with  civility.  Thomas 
afterwards  endeavored  to  cheer  the  men  of  tlie  ship,  by 
telling  them  of  his  assurance  that  they  should  not  go  to 
Algiers ;  and  exhorted  them  now  to  be  willing  to  obey  the 
Turks,  as  the  people  of  Algiers  were  called  by  the  English. 
This  they  promised  to  do ;  and  he  soon  perceived  that  they 
gained  the  favor  and  confidence  of  these  barbarous  people, 
who  gradually  grew  careless  and  easy,  and  several  of  them 
returned  to  their  own  ship  with  some  small  matter  of  })lunder. 
Soon  afterwards  the  captain  and  men  were  returned  on  board 
from  the  other  vessel,  which  relieved  Thomas's  great  anxiety 


196 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1663. 


for  their  safety.  He  still  assured  the  seamen  of  his  belief 
that  they  should  not  go  to  Algiers,  and  told  them  that  if 
they  would  be  ruled  by  his  directions,  he  would  act  for  their 
delivery  as  well  as  his  own ;  though  he  saw  at  present  no 
way  to  effect  it.  The  vessel  having  been  commanded  by  a 
Friend,  though  the  sailors  were  not  of  that  persuasion,  had 
of  course  no  arms  on  board,  except  what  were  in  possession 
of  the  pirates,  who  were  well  armed.  Thomas  said  to  the 
seamen,  "  What  if  we  should  overcome  the  Turks,  and  go  to 
Majorca?"  at  which  the  men  rejoiced,  and  began  to  boast 
of  their  intentions  of  killing  their  captors ;  but  this  being 
very  far  from  the  mate's  intentions,  he  was  much  grieved, 
and  plainly  told  them  that  he  intended  not  to  hurt  any,  and 
if  he  knew  that  any  of  them  would  touch  a  Turk  for  that 
purpose,  he  would  tell  the  Turks  himself;  adding,  "  but  if  ye 
will  be  ruled,  I  will  act  for  you  ;  if  not,  I  will  be  still."  To 
this  the  men  agreed ;  and  he  strictly  charged  them  to  do  all 
that  the  j^irates  should  tell  them,  with  the  utmost  diligence, 
so  as  to  gain  still  more  their  confidence.  Divulging  his 
plans  to  the  captain,  the  latter  agreed  to  let  him  do  what  he 
would,  provided  no  blood  should  be  spilt ;  which  Thomas 
of  course  engaged,  as  he  said  he  would  rather  go  to  Algiers, 
than  to  kill  one  of  the  Turks. 

The  weather  now  becoming  stormy,  they  lost  the  company 
of  the  Algerine  vessel,  which  was  favorable  to  the  mate's 
wishes ;  and  the  pirates  had  by  this  time  grown  extremely 
easy  and  careless,  from  the  good  behavior  of  the  sailors. 
The  second  night  after  the  vessels  parted  company,  the 
leader  of  the  pirates  and  one  of  his  company  having  gone  to 
sleep  in  the  cabin  with  the  captain,  Thomas  persuaded 
another  of  them  to  lie  in  his  own  cabin,  and  about  an  hour 
afterwards,  another  in  another  cabin ;  and  as  it  rained  very 
hard,  he  at  length  persuaded  them  all  to  lie  down  and  sleep. 
When  they  were  all  fast  asleep,  he  came  to  them,  and  fairly 
got  possession  of  their  arms ;  and  going  to  the  sailors,  he 


1663.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


197 


said  to  them,  "  Xow  we  have  the  Turks  at  our  command,  no 
man  shall  hurt  them — but  as  they  are  under  deck,  we  will 
keep  them  so,  and  go  for  Majorca."  And  having  ordered 
some  to  keep  the  doors,  and  not  to  let  more  than  one  out  at 
a  time,  he  steered  for  that  island  ;  and  having  a  brisk  gale, 
when  morning  came  they  were  in  sight  of  it.  The  Turks 
finding  this,  were  struck  with  consternation,  and  began  to 
beg  that  they  might  not  be  sold ;  which  the  mate  assured 
them  they  should  not ;  and  when  they  came  towards  the 
shore,  they  concealed  the  pirates  in  the  ship,  to  prevent  the 
Spaniards  from  discovering  that  any  were  on  board.  But 
by  the  treachery  of  an  Englishman,  to  whom  they  confi- 
dentially divulged  what  they  had  done,  the  Spaniards  got 
wind  of  it,  and  would  have  seized  these  men  to  sell  them  for 
slaves ;  and  they  had  much  difficulty,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  pirates  themselves,  in  getting  clear  of  the  island,  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  save  their  prisoners  from  such  a  fate.  They 
at  length  got  safely  out  to  sea,  thus  placing  themselves  again 
in  great  danger,  in  order  to  save  those  men  from  their 
enemies. 

Several  times  these  ungrateful  people  attempted  to  rise 
against  them,  notwithstanding  they  were  treated  with  great 
kindness ;  but  the  Christian  intrepidity  and  prudence  of  the 
mate,  kept  them  from  their  purpose.  On  one  occasion,  when 
the  ten  pirates  were  for  some  purpose  all  on  deck,  and  none 
of  the  English  there  but  the  captain,  the  mate,  and  the  man 
at  the  helm,"  they  began  to  behave  in  such  a  way  as  to 
awaken  Thomas's  suspicions  of  intended  mischief;  where- 
upon, stamping  with  his  foot  on  the  deck,  he  brought  up  the 
men  from  below ;  who  beo^an  to  look  about  for  somethincr 
wherewith  they  might  fall  on  the  Turks.  He  bade  them 
however  not  to  hurt  them ;  but  hearing  some  of  the  pirates 
threatening  the  captain,  he  stepped  up  to  their  leader,  and 
laying  hold  of  him,  told  him  to  go  below ;  which  he  did 
very  quietly,  and  the  rest  followed  him.  Two  days  after 
17* 


198 


IIISTOETCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1663. 


this,  they  came  off  the  coast  of  Barbary,  about  fifty  miles 
from  Algiers,  and  began  to  consider  the  best  means  of  put- 
ting the  pirates  ashore,  with  safety  to  themselves.  Thomas, 
who  trusted  in  the  Lord's  preserving  power,  undertook  this 
hazardous  business ;  and  taking  with  him  two  men  and  a 
boy,  he  put  these  ten  Turks  into  the  boat,  all  loose  and 
unbound,  in  order  that,  if  necessary,  they  might  be  able  to 
swim  ashore.  In  order  to  provide  against  a  sudden  rising, 
whereby  they  might  get  possession  of  the  boat,  he  made  them 
sit  in  each  other's  laps,  the  leader  being  the  lowest  at  the 
stern  of  the  boat,  and  he  himself  sitting  with  a  boat-hook  in 
his  hand  on  the  boAV.  Thus  the  boat  stood  for  the  shore ; 
but  as  they  came  near  it,  the  sailors  becoming  afraid,  sud- 
denly cried  out  that  there  were  Turks  in  the  bushes  on  the 
shore;  and  the  pirates  perceiving  their  fright,  took  advan- 
tage of  it,  and  all  rose  up  in  the  boat.  But  the  mate  in  this 
emergency  preserved  his  presence  of  mind,  and  with  the 
boat-hook  in  his  hand  he  struck  the  leader  a  smart  blow, 
and  bid  him  sit  down ;  which  he  did  instantly,  and  the  rest 
followed  his  example.  After  the  boat  was  come  so  near  the 
shore  that  they  could  easily  make  to  land,  he  bid  the  pirates 
jump  out ;  which  they  did ;  and  giving  them  some  pro- 
visions, and  afterwards  putting  the  boat  closer  in,  he  sent 
them  off,  and  got  safe  back  to  the  ship.  The  Algerines, 
getting  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  waved  their  caps  at  the 
English,  and  so  took  their  leave.  Thomas  Lurting  had  the 
satisfaction  of  reflecting  that  he  had  followed  the  injunction 
of  his  Divine  Master,  even  to  love  our  enemies,  and  do  good 
to  them  that  hate  us ;  and  having  by  his  prudence,  under 
the  guidance  of  heavenly  wisdom,  thus  saved  the  ship  and 
his  companions,  he  was  favored  to  return  to  England  with 
a  prosperous  wind.  On  his  arrival  in  the  river  Thames,  this 
extraordinary  transaction  having  become  known  in  London, 
the  king,  with  the  Duke  of  York,  and  several  other  nobles, 
came  in  the  royal  barge,  to  have  the  narrative  from  Thomas's 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


199 


own  mouth  ;  though  it  upi'>ears  that  the  monarch  did  not 
duly  appreciate  the  principles  under  which  he  had  acted. 

About  this  time  there  were  a  number  of  Friends  held  in 
captivity  at  Algiers ;  w^ho  by  faithfully  serving  those  who 
claimed  them  as  slaves,  gained  the  esteem  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  were  suffered  to  go  at  large  in  the  town,  without  being 
chained  as  others  were.  These  met  together  for  religious 
worship,  and  one  of  them  received  a  gift  in  the  ministry,  for 
the  edification  of  his  Friends.  Some  other  English  slaves 
also  frequented  the  meeting,  and  came  to  be  united  with 
them  ;  and  the  name  of  Quaker  came  to  be  known  in  Algiers, 
as  that  of  a  people  that  might  be  trusted  beyond  all  others. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

DEATH  OF  SAMUEL    FISHER  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  CONYINCE- 

MENT,  ETC. 

AMONG  the  great  numbers  of  the  people  called  Quakers 
who  laid  down  their  lives  in  prison  during  the  year 
1665,  was  Samuel  Fisher.  He  was  a  man  of  good  abilities, 
and  had  received  a  liberal  education,  having,  when  a  young 
man,  been  sent  to  one  of  the  universities  to  complete  his 
studies.  Being  a  youth  of  circumspect  and  pious  conversa- 
tion, his  mind  vras  burdened  with  many  practices  which  he 
found  prevalent  at  the  university.  But  at  the  conclusion 
of  his  studies  there,  he  was  ordained  a  priest,  and  became 
first  a  chaplain  to  a  person  in  authority,  and  afterwards  was 
presented  to  the  living  of  Lidd,  in  Kent,  with  a  stipend  of 
a])out  two  hundred  pounds  a  year. 

Before  he  became  acquainted  with  Friends,  being  con- 


200 


IIISTORTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1665. 


scientiously  engaged  in  seeking  after  truth,  he  discovered 
that  infant  baptism  was  a  mere  liunian  institution,  and  that 
to  preach  for  hire  was  contrary  to  the  command  of  Christ : 
"Freely  ye  have  received  —  freely  give."  And  being 
requested  by  a  person  of  his  acquaintance,  to  converse  with 
a  young  man  who  had  been  in  some  degree  convinced  of  the 
principles  of  Friends,  but  as  yet  had  no  acquaintance  with 
any  of  that  people ;  in  his  endeavors  to  remove  this  young 
man's  scruples  in  respect  to  some  of  their  religious  per- 
formances, he  was  himself  convinced  of  the  impropriety  of 
the  common  practice  of  giving  out  psalms  for  a  mixed  c(m- 
gregation  to  sing,  whose  minds  must  be  in  very  different 
stages  of  religious  attainment,  and  consequently  unfit  in 
many  instances  to  take  the  w^ords  of  the  holy  psalmist  as 
expressive  of  their  own  condition.  At  length  his  continuing 
to  preach  for  hire,  contrary  to  his  convictions,  became  a 
burden  too  heavy  for  him  to  bear ;  and  he  voluntarily 
resigned  his  pastoral  charge,  and  trusted  to  the  protection 
of  Divine  Providence,  in  an  endeavor  by  honest  industry  to 
provide  a  subsistence  for  himself  and  his  family.  He  rented 
a  farm,  and  commenced  the  business  of  a  grazier ;  by  which 
he  was  favored  to  procure  a  comfortable  competency,  w^ith 
the  consolation  of  the  testimony  of  an  approving  conscience. 

Having  discovered  a  great  mixture  of  human  tradition 
and  invention  retained  from  the  papal  system,  among  the 
Episcopalians,  he  Avithdrew  from  their  communion,  and  join- 
ing the  Baptists,  became  for  a  time  a  favorite  teacher  among 
them.  But  his  mind  was  still  seeking  the  further  discoveries 
of  the  Divine  wdll ;  and  about  the  year  1655,  it  pleased  the 
Father  of  mercies  to  open  his  understanding  to  behold  more 
"  wondrous  things  out  of  his  law."  William  Caton  and 
John  Stubbs,  two  eminent  ministers  among  Friends,  came  I 
to  Lidd  ;  and  Samuel  Fisher,  remembering  the  apostolic 
exhortation,  "Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers," 
received  them  into  his  house.    John  Stubbs  going  to  the  i 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


201 


meeting  of  the  Baptists  where  Samuel  officiated,  and  obtain- 
ing an  opportunity  to  preach  the  gospel,  delivered  the  sound 
principles  of  Christian  truth  with  such  clearness  and  author- 
ity, that  Samuel  was  deeply  affected.  And  observing  that 
the  life  and  conversation  of  these  gospel  messengers  were 
consonant  to  the  testimony  they  held  forth,  he  was  so  much 
impressed,  that  giving  up  all  his  dependence  on  his  own 
wisdom  and  learning,  he  soon  became  thorouglily  convinced, 
and  openly  professed  the  religion  of  this  persecuted  people. 

Whilst  Samuel  Fisher's  mind  was  undergoing  this  change, 
Hammond,  his  colleague  in  office,  took  upon  him  to  utter  in 
a  sermon  many  bitter  invectives  against  the  Quakers.  On 
which,  Samuel,  incited  by  a  more  Christian  temper,  and  a 
dispassionate  regard  for  truth,  thought  that  his  duty  to  his 
misinformed  flock  required  him  to  boar  his  testimony  against 
the  calumnies  of  his  colleague.  "  Dear  brother,"  said  he, 
with  the  moderation  and  charity  of  a  Christian,  "  you  are 
very  dear  and  near  to  me,  but  the  truth  is  dearer  and  nearer : 
it  is  the  everlasting  truth  and  gospel.which  they  hold  forth." 
"  Our  brother  Fisher  is  also  bewitched,"  retorted  Hammond, 
in  a  very  different  spirit.  But  Samuel's  faith  was  not  of 
that  cast  to  return  reviling  for  reviling  ;  and  having  sincerely 
borne  his  testimony,  he  then  left  it,  and  followed  his  own 
convictions  to  his  great  peace.  Soon  after  joining  the  Society 
of  Friends,  he  received  a  gift  in  the  ministry,  and  travelled 
much  both  in  England  and  other  countries.  In  Flanders, 
he  faithfully  testified  against  the  idolatry  of  the  papists: 
and  afterwards,  in  company  with  John  Stubbs,  crossed  the 
Alps  on  foot,  and  travelled  through  Italy  to  Rome ;  where 
they  bore  a  faithful  testimony  to  the  simplicity  of  true 
religion,  and  exposed  the  superstitions  of  that  seat  of  bigotry 
and  pomp.  They  also  distributed  some  books  among  the 
ecclesiastics  of  that  city,  and  having  finished  their  service, 
passed  away  without  molestation. 

But  though  Samuel   escaped  persecution  among  the 


202 


TTTSTOKTCAL  MEMOIES  OF 


[1665. 


Romanists,  he  met  with  his  full  share  of  it  from  the  protes- 
tants  of  his  native  country ;  and  spent  the  greatest  part  of 
the  last  four  years  of  his  life  in  prison.  In  1662,  in  com- 
pany with  William  Ames  and  some  other  Friends,  he  was 
violently  seized  by  a  party  of  soldiers,  with  no  warrant  but 
their  drawn  swords ;  and  after  six  weeks'  confinement  was 
committed  to  Newgate,  for  refusal  to  take  an  oath,  and 
without  any  form  of  trial.  Here  he  continued  about  twelve 
months,  and  in  a  short  time  after  his  release,  was  again 
taken,  and  committed  to  the  White-lion  prison  in  South wark. 
This  was  his  last  imj^risonnient,  and  only  ceased  with  his 
life.  He  remained  nearly  two  years  in  confinement,  until  in 
1665,  the  plague  broke  out  in  London,  and  soon  raged  to 
such  a  degree  that  seven  thousand  persons  died  of  it  in  that 
city  in  one  week.  Of  course  it  reached  the  filthy  and 
crowded  prisons,  where  many  Friends  were  at  that  time 
confined ;  and  in  Newgate  prison  alone,  no  less  than  fifty- 
two  of  that  people  laid  down  their  lives,  twenty-two  of  whom 
were  under  sentence  of  transportation. 

Whether  this  was  the  disease  by  which  Samuel  Fisher 
was  called  to  his  everlasting  home,  we  are  not  informed ; 
but  he  finished  his  course  in  prison  in  perfect  peace. 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FPJEXDS. 


203 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  RICHARD  SELLER,  FOR  HIS  TESTIMONY 
AGAINST  WAR,  ON  BOARD  THE  FLAG-SHIP  "  ROYAL 
PRINCE."  * 

TTTE  have  seen  how  Thomas  Liirting  was  preserved  through 


f  t  sufferings,  a  faithful  witness  of  the  peaceable  nature 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  finally  overcame  the  malice 
of  his  enemies.  We  now  have  to  narrate  the  simple  story 
of  another  soldier  of  the  Lamb's  army,  who  knowing  that 
the  weapons  of  the  Christian's  warfare  are  not  carnal  but 
spiritual,  endured  uncommon  cruelties,  and  refused  to  save 
his  life,  by  uniting  in  the  destruction  of  his  fellow-men. 

Richard  Seller  was  a  fisherman  of  Kilnsea,  on  the  coast 
of  Yorkshire,  who  had  been  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the 
principles  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  During  the  war 
between  the  English  and  Dutch  about  the  year  1665,  he 
was  pressed  at  Scarborough  into  the  king's  service,  and 
forcibly  conveyed  on  board  the  flag-ship  "  Royal  Prince," 
commanded  by  Admiral  Sir  Edward  Spragg,  and  having  on 
board  nearly  one  thousand  men.  Being  commanded  to  go 
to  work  at  the  capstan,  he  declined,  and  told  them  that  not 
being  free  to  do  the  king's  work,  he  would  not  live  at  his 
charge  for  victuals.  Upon  this  the  boatswain's  mate  beat 
him  severely ;  and  he  was  ordered  on  the  quarter-deck ; 
where  the  captain  asking  him  the  reason  of  his  refusing  to 
fight,  or  partake  of  the  ship's  provisions,  he  replied  that  he 
was  afraid  of  offending  God,  and  durst  not  fight  with  carnal 

*  See  Besse's  "Collection  of  the  Sufl'erings  of  the  Quakers,"  vol. 
ii.  p.  112. 


204 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1665. 


weapons ;  wlicreupon  the  captain  also  fell  upon  liim  with 
liis  cane,  knocking  him  down  three  or  four  times  on  the 
deck,  and  beating  him  very  severely  as  long  as  he  had 
strength  to  do  it.  One  Thomas  Horner  coming  up,  who  had 
had  some  acquaintance  with  Richard,  entreated  the  captain 
"  to  be  merciful,  for  he  knew  him  to  be  an  honest  and  good 
man ; "  but  the  captain  in  his  fury  exclaimed,  "  he  is  a 
Quaker,  —  I  will  beat  his  brains  out ! "  and  falling  upon  him 
again,  beat  him  until  he  became  exhausted,  and  then  called 
another  person  to  help  him.  After  this  they  tied  two  ropes 
to  his  wrists,  and  reefing  the  ropes  through  two  blocks  in  the 
mizzen-shrouds,  hoisted  him  up  aloft,  and  fastened  the  ropes, 
so  that  he  hung  there  by  his  wrists  for  some  time,  a  butt  for 
the  vulgar  jests  of  this  wicked  crew.  Then  they  let  fly  the 
ropes,  and  he  fell  upon  the  deck.  The  captain  called  to  the 
boatswain's  mate,  to  "  take  the  Quakerly  dog  away,  and  put 
him  to  the  capstan,  and  mahe  him  work,  and  beat  him,  and 
spare  him  not."  This  man  performed  his  officer's  command 
thoroughly,  beating  Richard  unmercifully,  tying  his  hands 
to  the  capstan,  and  making  the  men  thus  haul  him  round 
with  them  by  main  force.  But  the  fastenings  of  his  hands 
coming  loose  by  some  means  which  no  one  could  explain, 
the  conscience  of  this  guilty  man  appears  to  have  been 
aroused  ;  he  thought  it  Avas  done  by  an  invisible  hand ;  and 
his  mind  was  so  strongly  affected  by  the  circumstance,  that 
he  "promised  before  God  and  man,  that  he  would  never 
beat  or  cause  to  be  beaten,  either  Quaker  or  any  other  man 
that  refused  for  conscience  sake  to  act  for  the  king ;  and  if 
he  should,  he  wished  he  might  lose  his  right  hand." 

This  man's  turn  came  now  to  suffer.  He  was  called  up 
before  the  admiral,  for  refusing  any  longer  to  beat  Richard 
Seller :  and  being  desired  to  answer  for  himself,  he  said,  "  I 
have  beaten  him  very  sore ;  and  I  seized  his  arms  to  the 
capstan's  bars,  and  forced  them  to  heave  him  about,  and 
beat  him,  —  and  in  three  or  four  times  of  the  capstan's  going 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


205 


ahout,  the  seizings  were  loosed,  and  he  came  and  sat  down 
by  me.  Then  I  called  the  men  from  the  capstan  and  had 
them  sworn,  whether  they  had  loosed  him  or  not ;  but  they 
all  denied  that  they  either  loosed  him  or  knew  by  what 
means  he  was  loosed ;  neither  could  the  seizings  ever  be 
found.  Therefore  I  did  and  do  believe  that  it  was  an  invis- 
ible power  that  set  him  at  liberty,  and  I  did  promise  before 
God  and  the  company,  that  I  Avould  never  beat  a  Quaker 
again,  nor  any  man  else  for  conscience  sake."  At  this  the 
admiral  told  him,  he  must  lose  his  cane  (the  insignia  of  his 
office) ;  which  he  willingly  yielded.  He  added,  that  "  he 
must  also  lose  his  place;"  which  also  he  was  willing  to  do. 
He  then  told  him  "  he  must  lose  his  right  hand  ; "  Avhen  he 
held  it  out,  and  said,  "  take  it  from  me  if  you  please."  So 
they  took  his  cane  from  him,  and  displaced  him,  but  did 
not  fulfil  the  other  barbarous  threat. 

Kichard  was  given  in  charge  by  the  admiral  to  seven 
men,  who  w^ere  commanded  to  beat  him  w^herever  they  met 
with  him,  for  seven  days  and  nights,  and  to  make  him  work  ; 
the  first  of  which  they  did  till  they  were  weary,  and  desired 
to  be  excused.  Another  man  then  undertook  it,  and  beat 
him  occasionally  for  a  day  and  a  night ;  Avhen  he  also  desired 
to  be  excused.  The  admiral  having  him  stripped,  and 
examining  his  body,  could  find  no  bruises;  at  which  he 
grew  angry  with  the  men  for  not  beating  him  enough ;  but 
Captain  Fowler  replied  to  him,  "  I  have  beaten  him  myself 
as  much  as  would  have  killed  an  ox."  The  jester,  (a  silly 
man  often  in  those  days  retained  about  the  persons  of  the 
nobility  to  make  merriment  by  his  fooleries,)  who  had  insti- 
gated them  to  the  hoisting  punishment,  said  "  he  had  him 
hung  a  great  while  by  the  arms  up  aloft  in  the  shrouds ; " 
and  the  men  declared,  "  they  also  had  beaten  him  very  sore, 
but  they  might  as  well  have  beaten  the  mainmast."  The 
admiral,  however,  was  inexorable;  Kichard  was  laid  in 
irons,  and  the  ship's  company  by  proclamation  prohibited 


206  HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF  [1665. 

on  pain  of  similar  punishment,  from  providing  him  with 
food.  So  he  lay  in  irons  day  and  night  for  nearly  two 
weeks,  and  would  probably  have  famished,  but  that  two 
Friends  of  Bridlington  had,  early  after  his  seizure,  sent  him 
a  supply  of  provisions.  As  it  w^as,  he  grew  very  ill  with  a 
fever.  After  some  days,  the  remainder  of  his  food  being  taken 
aw^ay,  the  carpenter's  mate  secretly  provided  him  with  some 
refreshment,  telling  him  that  he  had  of  his  own,  independent 
of  the  ship's  provisions,  and  that  before  he  came  on  board  he 
w^as  strictly  charged  by  his  wife  and  mother,  "  that  if  any 
Quaker  came  on  board,  he  should  be  kind  to  them ; "  he  added 
that  he  had  also  lately  received  a  letter  from  them,  wdierein  they 
repeated  their  charge,  "  to  remember  his  promise,  and  be  kind 
to  Quakers,  if  any  were  on  board."  This  man,  however,  was 
soon  sent  away  from  the  vessel  on  some  occasion,  and  Richard 
remained  without  sustenance  for  three  days  and  nights. 

After  suffering  in  this  way  for  a  considerable  time,  the 
admiral  called  a  council  of  war,  composed  of  the  officers  of 
that  and  other  ships,  to  decide  on  the  final  punishment  to 
which  Richard  Seller  should  be  condemned.  Being  so  lame 
with  the  irons  that  he  could  not  stand,  he  was  set  on  a  bulk- 
head to  hear  his  sentence.  The  judge  or  president,  who  was 
governor  of  Dover  Castle,  was  a  papist ;  and  when  they  were 
much  divided  in  sentiment,  to  what  death  to  subject  their 
prisoner,  this  man  proposed  that  he  "  should  be  put  into  a 
barrel  or  cask  driven  full  of  nails  with  their  points  inwards, 
and  so  rolled  to  death,"  But  the  council  of  war  thinking 
this  too  horrible  a  punishment,  agreed  that  he  should  be 
hung.  The  poor  innocent  prisoner  meanwhile  was  lifting 
up  his  heart  to  the  God  of  his  life ;  who  left  him  not  in  his 
extremity,  but  raised  his  mind  above  all  earthly  things, 
endued  him  with  sudden  strength,  and  enabled  him  to 
declare  to  the  assembly,  that  "  the  hearts  of  kings  themselves 
were  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  so  were  theirs  and  his ; 
that  he  valued  not  what  they  could  do  to  this  his  body,  for 


10G5.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


207 


he  was  at  peace  with  God  and  with  all  mankind,  even  -with 
them,  his  adversaries ;  that  he  could  never  die  in  a  better 
condition,  for  the  Lord  had  satisfied  him  that  his  sins  were 
forgiven,  and  he  was  glad  in  His  mercy  that  He  had  made 
him  willing  to  suffer  for  His  name's  sake — that  he  was 
heartily  glad  and  did  really  rejoice  with  a  seal  to  the  same 
in  his  heart."  His  accusers  and  judges  could  not  bear  this, 
and  most  of  them  slunk  away.  A  man  came  and  laid  his 
hand  on  Kichard's  shoulder,  saying,  "where  are  all  thy 
accusers?"  And  looking  round  he  found  them  gone.  The 
admiral,  however,  being  still  there,  he  showed  him  his  terri- 
ble sores,  produced  by  the  irons  on  his  limbs ;  and  an  old 
soldier  coming  up,  put  off  his  cap,  and  kneeling  down  on  his 
bared  knees  before  the  commander,  with  the  obsequious 
etiquette  of  the  navy,  begged  his  pardon  three  times,  and 
having  got  liberty  to  speak,  thus  addressed  him :  "  Noble 
Sir  Edward,  you  know  that  I  have  served  his  majesty  under 
you  many  years,  both  in  this  nation  and  other  nations  by 
sea,  and  you  were  always  a  merciful  man :  therefore  I  do 
entreat  you  in  all  kindness,  to  be  merciful  to  this  poor  man, 
who  is  condemned  to  die  to-morrow,  and  only  for  denying 
your  order,  for  fear  of  offending  God,  and  for  conscience 
sake ;  and  we  have  but  one  man  on  board,  out  of  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  which  doth  refuse  for  conscience-sake ;  and 
shall  we  take  his  life  away?  Nay,  God  forbid.  For  he 
hath  already  declared,  that  if  we  take  his  life,  there  shall  a 
judgment  ap2)ear  on  some  on  board  within  eight  and  forty- 
hours  ;  and  to  me  it  hath  appeared ;  therefore  I  am  forced  to 
come  upon  quarter-deck  before  you,  and  my  spirit  is  one  with 
his.  And  therefore  I  desire  you  in  all  kindness,  when  you 
take  his  life,  to  give  me  the  liberty  to  go  off ;  for  I  shall 
not  be  willing  to  serve  his  majesty  any  longer  on  board  ship. 
So  I  do  entreat  you  once  more,  to  be  merciful  to  this  poor 
man." 

The  chief  gunner  also,  who  had  been  formerly  a  captain, 


208 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1665. 


came  in  the  same  humble  manner,  and  begged  for  Richard's 
life.  The  admiral  hoAvever  persisted,  and  desired  him  to  go 
down,  and  spend  the  day  in  taking  leave  of  his  acquaintances 
on  board.  That  night,  one  of  the  men  kindly  offered  him 
the  use  of  his  hammock,  and  he  obtained  the  luxury  which 
had  long  been  denied  him,  whilst  he  lay  continually  in 
irons,  of  a  good  night's  rest.  About  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  the  captains  of  the  other  ships,  who  had  joined  in 
the  council  of  war,  having  come  on  board,  and  a  rope  being 
fastened  on  the  mizzen-yardarm,  with  a  boy  ready  to  turn 
him  off,  Richard  was  brought  out  to  be  executed.  And 
coming  to  the  spot,  the  commander  asked  the  council,  how 
their  judgment  stood?  And  most  of  them  consenting,  he 
turned  to  the  prisoner,  and  desired  him  freely  to  speak,  if 
he  had  any  thing  to  say  before  his  execution.  He  replied, 
that  he  had  little  at  present  to  say.  Then  came  a  man  who 
bid  him  go  forward  to  be  hung;  and  he  stepping  on  the 
gunnel  to  go  towards  the  rope,  the  commander  bid  him  stop 
there,  if  he  had  any  thing  to  say.  At  this  juncture,  when 
perhaps  the  hearts  of  some  were  softening,  at  the  fa  te  which 
seemed  impending  over  this  innocent  sufferer,  the  person  who 
had  acted  as  judge  on  the  trial  incautiously  showed  his 
popish  bigotry  by  the  remai'k,  "  Sir  Edward  is  a  merciful 
man,  that  puts  that  heretic  to  no  worse  death  than  hanging." 
The  word  heretic  struck  the  ear  of  the  admiral,  who  professed 
himself  a  protestant;  and  scorning  to  be  made  a  tool  to 
execute  the  vengeance  of  a  papist,  he  turned  quickly  about, 
and  asked  him  what  he  said.  "  I  say,"  replied  he,  "  that 
you  are  a  merciful  man,  that  puts  him  to  no  worse  death 
than  hanging."  "  But,"  said  the  commander,  "  what  is  that 
other  word  that  thou  saidst? — that  heretic  —  I  say,  he  is 
more  a  Christian  than  thyself;  for  I  do  believe  thouwouldst 
hang  me,  if  it  were  in  thy  power."  And  turning  to  his 
prisoner,  he  said,  "  Come  down  again  ;  I  will  not  hurt  a  hair 
of  thy  head,  for  I  cannot  make  one  hair  grow."    He  imme- 


1665.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


209 


diately  caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  three  times  over,  that  if 
any  credible  man  on  board  would  give  evidence  that  Richard 
had  done  any  thing  deserving  of  death,  he  should  have  it ; 
but  no  one  appearing,  he  proclaimed,  "  that  the  Quaker  was 
as  free  a  man  as  any  on  board."  So  the  men,  who  filled  the 
shrouds,  tops,  and  decks,  heaved  up  their  hats,  and  loudly 
cried,  "  God  bless  Sir  Edward,  he  is  a  merciful  man."  And 
thus  did  the  Almighty  Care-taker  of  his  lowly  dependent 
children,  defeat  the  evil  intentions  of  those  who  sought  the 
life  of  this  faithful  sufferer  for  the  cause  of  a  pure  conscience, 
and  for  his  testimony  to  the  j^eaceful  nature  of  true  Chris- 
tianity. Great  was  the  peace  with  which  his  soul  was  filled 
on  this  memorable  day.  Much  kindness  was  shown  to  him 
by  all  on  board ;  but  he  declared  that  "  the  great  kindness 
of  the  Lord  exceeded  all." 

Being  thus  preserved  from  death,  he  was  soon  after  made 
instrumental  to  the  saving  of  the  ship,  and  the  lives  of  many 
on  board.  It  appears  that  he  was  visited  by  a  remarkable 
dream  or  vision,  in  which  it  was  shown  him  that  the  vessel 
would  be  engaged  with  the  Dutch  on  a  certain  sand-bank, 
and  in  imminent  danger  of  running  aground,  and  so  becom- 
ing a  prey  to  the  enemy.  And  though  it  was  death  by  the 
rules  of  the  navy,  for  any  one  to  say  any  thing  calculated 
to  discourage  the  crew  in  time  of  battle,  yet  he  was  not  easy 
without  mentioning  the  circumstance  to  one  or  two  of  the 
officers ;  and  when  afterwards  they  were  engaged  in  battle, 
he  from  the  shrouds  pointed  out  to  the  pilot  the  very  sand- 
bank, which  had  been  marvellously  manifested  to  him 
several  days  before,  when  he  and  the  rest  were  entirely 
unacquainted  with  such  a  shoal.  The  vessel  was  imme- 
diately put  about,  in  spite  of  the  commander's  orders  to  the 
contrary,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  danger ;  and  they  were 
thus  suddenly  rescued  from  running  aground,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  this  despised  and  abused  man.  During 
the  engagement,  he  was  employed  in  attending  to  the  poor 
18* 


210 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIKS  OF 


[1665. 


wounded  and  dying  men  ;  and  again  saved  the  ship  from 
danger,  by  pointing  out  a  fire-ship  rapidly  approaching 
them  through  the  smoke,  filled  with  combustibles,  in  order 
to  set  them  on  fire  by  the  collision  which  would  soon  have 
taken  place. 

About  a  week  after  this,  they  were  again  engaged  with 
the  Dutch,  and  Richard  was  as  before  employed  in  carrying 
down  and  attending  to  the  wounded  men.  This  day  they 
lost  about  two  hundred  of  their  ship's  company.  In 
describing  this  day's  work,  he  says,  "  The  lieutenant  meeting 
me,  asked  me  if  I  had  received  any  wound?  I  told  him, 
none.  He  asked,  '  How  I  came  to  be  so  bloody  ? '  Then  I 
told  him,  '  It  was  with  carrying  down  wounded  men.'  So 
he  took  me  in  his  arms,  and  kissed  me ;  and  this  was  the 
same  lieutenant  that  persecuted  me  so  with  irons  at  the  first." 

Soon  after  this,  the  vessel  arriving  near  Chatham,  the 
admiral  came  up  to  Richard,  and  laying  his  hand  on  his 
head,  said,  "  Thou  hast  done  well,  and  very  well  too,"  and 
gave  him  liberty  to  go  ashore.  Richard  requested  from  him 
a  certificate,  to  show  that  he  had  not  run  away.  The 
admiral,  knowing  he  was  a  fisherman,  and  likely,  from  his 
occupation,  to  be  exposed  again  to  be  pressed  on  board  some 
ship  of  war,  said,  "  thou  shalt  have  one  to  keep  thee  clear  at 
home,  and  also  in  thy  fishing ; "  and  having  it  made  out,  he 
signed  it,  and  gave  it  to  Richard,  wishing  him  well,  and 
desiring  to  hear  from  him  if  he  got  well  home.  His  pay 
was  offered  him ;  but  he  refused  it,  and  told  them  that  he 
had  money  of  his  own,  which  he  hoped  would  serve  him  till 
he  reached  his  home. 

Such  is  the  remarkable  narrative  of  the  sufferings  of  this  j 
faithful  man,  who,  rather  than  violate  his  conscience  by 
being  instrumental  to  destroy  other  men's  lives,  endured 
with  patience  many  sore  trials,  "  loving  not  his  life  unto  the 
death  ; "  but  was  freely  resigned  to  martyrdom  for  his  testi-  , 
mony  against  war,  and  was  preserved  from  it  at  the  last  \ 


1666.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


21 


extremity,  bv  a  memorable  interposition  of  Him  who  can 
change  the  hearts  and  purposes  of  men  at  his  will.  And 
thus  was  he  enabled  to  triumph  over  the  malice  of  his 
enemies,  who  conscious  at  length  of  his  innocence  and  virtue, 
became  his  friends  and  favorers. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

WILLIAM  PENN's  early  LIFE  AND  CONVIXCEMENT. 

ABOUT  the  year  1666,  the  Society  was  joined  by  one 
whose  talents,  education,  and  rank  in  life  opened  to 
him  the  fairest  prospects  of  promotion  to  the  favor  of  courts, 
and  the  various  gratifications  which  this  world  has  to 
bestow ;  but  who,  preferring  a  life  of  self-denial  and  sufier- 
ing,  with  and  for  the  people  of  God  and  the  cause  of  eter- 
nal Truth,  forsook  the  pleasures  of  Egypt  at  an  early  age, 
and  entering  heartily  into  the  ranks  of  the  Lord's  army, 
became  eminently  serviceable  in  advancing  the  cause  of 
true  Christianity,  both  in  the  old  world  and  in  the  new. 

William  Penn  was  born  in  London,  in  the  year  1644. 
His  father,  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,  was  a  man  of  good 
estate  and  reputation,  and  distinguished  himself  in  some 
of  the  highest  stations  of  the  British  navy.  He  was 
knighted  by  King  Charles  the  Second ;  and  became  a 
peculiar  favorite  with  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James 
the  Second.  William  received  a  liberal  education,  and 
made  so  early  improvements  in  learning,  that  about  his 
fifteenth  year  he  was  entered  as  a  student  in  the  university 
of  Oxford.    He  soon  however  began  to  display  an  ardent 


212 


HTSTORTCAL  MT^rOTRS  OF 


[16B6. 


desire  after  pure  and  spiritual  religion.  He  had  been  much 
impressed  on  one  occasion,  by  the  ministry  of  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  named  Thomas  Loe ;  and  yielding 
to  the  feelings  which  were  secretly  implanted  in  his  mind, 
he,  with  certain  other  students  of  the  university,  withdrew 
from  the  national  ceremonious  way  of  worship,  and  held 
private  meetings  for  devotional  purposes,  preaching  and 
praying  among  themselves.  He  was  now  sixteen  years  of 
age;  and  this  practice  giving  great -offence  to  the  heads  of 
the  college,  he  Avas  fined  for  non-  conformity ;  and  still  per- 
severing in  what  he  believed  to  be  more  consonant  with  the 
gospel,  than  the  practices  of  the  established  form  of  relig- 
ion, he  was  expelled  the  college,  and  returned  home  in  1661. 

His  father,  who  had  fondly  hoped  for  great  worldly  pre- 
ferment for  his  son,  was  much  disappointed  in  finding  the 
change  which  had  taken  place  in  his  views.  For  feeling  a 
secret  sympathy  spring  up  in  his  heart  for  sober  and  relig- 
ious people,  William  took  great  delight  in  their  company, 
to  the  neglect  of  those  associations  and  occupations  which 
would  have  promoted  his  entrance  into  a  courtly  life.  His 
father  endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  conform  to  his  wishes, 
though  at  the  risk  of  wounding  his  conscience ;  but  finding 
that  neither  his  entreaties  nor  blows  were  sufiicient  to  induce 
his  son  to  obey  him,  rather  than  his  Maker,  in  a  fit  of  anger 
he  turned  him  out  of  doors. 

Relenting  however  in  some  measure  from  his  severity,  the 
next  year  he  sent  him  to  France,  in  company  with  some 
persons  of  quality  who  were  making  a  tour  on  the  conti- 
nent, hoping  by  this  means  to  wean  him  from  the  serious 
thoughtfulness  and  strictness  of  life  to  which  he  was  so 
strongly  inclined.  This  snare  was  wellnigh  succeeding; 
for  being  thrown  for  a  year  or  more  among  the  fashionable 
and  dissipated  circles  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  his  mind 
became  diverted  from  the  concerns  of  his  soul's  salvation, 
and  lie  came  back,  to  his  father's  great  gratification,  an 


1666.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


213 


accomplished  man  of  the  world.  But  He  who  watched 
over  him  for  good,  suffered  him  not  to  remain  long  in  this 
state  of  ease.  He  was  mercifully  made  sensible  that  the 
pleasures  of  the  world,  and  the  maxims  dictated  by  its 
spirit,  were  at  enmity  with  God,  and  incompatible  with  an 
earnest  seeking  after  that  crown  immortal,  which  was  re- 
newedly  presented  to  his  view  as  the  only  object  worthy  of 
his  supreme  desires.  He  was  thus  brought  into  great  con- 
flict of  spirit ;  for  his  natural  inclination,  his  lively  and 
active  disposition,  his  acquired  accomplishments,  the  resj)ect 
of  his  friends  and  acquaintance,  and  above  all,  the  favor 
of  a  fondly  attached  parent,  combined  strongly  to  entice 
his  youthful  mind  to  embrace  the  glory  and  pleasures  of 
this  world,  then  courting  his  acceptance.  The  earnest  sup- 
plication of  his  soul  was  put  up  to  the  Lord  for  preserva- 
tion ;  and  He  was  pleased  to  grant  him  such  a  portion  of 
His  holy  power  and  Spirit,  as  enabled  him  in  time  to  over- 
come all  opposition,  and  with  holy  resolution  to  follow 
Christ,  whatsoever  reproaches  or  persecutions  might  at- 
tend him. 

In  the  year  1666,  and  the  twenty-second  of  his  age,  his 
father  sent  him  to  Ireland,  to  manage  a  considerable  estate 
there ;  and  being  at  Cork,  and  hearing  that  Thomas  Loe, 
whom  he  had  heard  preach  several  years  before  at  Oxford, 
was  expected  at  a  meeting  in  that  city,  he  Avent  to  hear  him. 
Thomas  began  his  declaration  with  these  words :  "  There  is 
a  faith  that  overcomes  the  world,  and  there  is  a  faith  that 
is  overcome  of  the  world : "  and  enlarging  upon  it  with 
much  clearness  and  energy,  his  living  and  powerful  testi- 
mony made  such  impression  upon  William's  spirit,  that 
under  the  baptizing  power  thereof,  he  was  effectually  con- 
vinced that  this  was  the  people  to  whom  he  must  attach 
himself ;  and  he  constantly  afterwards  attended  the  meet- 
ings of  Friends,  and  was  united  in  close  fellowship  with 
them. 


214 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1667. 


The  next  year  he  was  called  to  testify,  by  patient  suf- 
fering, his  faithfulness  to  the  principles  he  had  espoused ; 
for  being  again  at  a  meeting  in  Cork,  he  was  apprehended, 
and  with  eighteen  others,  carried  before  the  mayor,  and 
committed  to  prison.  The  Earl  of  Orrery,  however,  Lord 
President  of  the  province  of  Munster,  with  w^hom  he  was 
well  acquainted,  on  William's  laying  his  case  before  him 
by  letter,  and  pleading  for  liberty  of  conscience  as  a  just 
right,  ordered  his  discharge. 

And  now  came  on  another  distressing  conflict  between 
his  father  and  himself  The  former,  by  a  letter  from  a 
nobleman  of  his  acquaintance  in  Ireland,  was  informed  of 
his  son's  attachment  to  this  despised  people,  and  promptly 
sending  for  him  home,  once  more  earnestly  endeavored  to 
dissuade  him  from  a  course,  which  seemed  to  him  to  shut 
up  from  his  son  all  avenues  to  the  promotion  which  he  de- 
sired Ibr  him.  William  deeply  felt  the  affliction  of  being 
obliged  by  his  regard  for  his  own  eternal  welfare,  to  refrain 
from  complying  with  these  entreaties  of  an  affectionate 
though  mistaken  parent ;  and  in  agony  of  spirit,  when  his 
father  tliTeatened  to  disinherit  him  for  his  non-compliance, 
he  lifted  up  his  heart  to  God,  for  strength  to  support  him 
in  that  hour  of  trial.  When  his  father,  finding  him  firmly 
fixed  against  a  general  acquiescence  in  the  customary  com- 
pliments, seemed  inclined  to  bear  with  him  at  length  in 
other  respects,  provided  he  would  agree  to  take  off  his  hat 
in  the  presence  of  the  king,  the  duke  of  York,  and  himself, 
William,  desiring,  if  he  possibly  could  with  a  clear  con- 
science, to  comply  with  his  father's  wishes,  requested  time 
to  consider  of  it,  and  promised  to  retire  to  his  chamber 
until  he  should  be  prepared  to  return  him  an  answer.  Ac- 
cordingly he  withdrew  ;  and  humbling  himself  before  God, 
with  fasting  and  supplication,  to  know  His  heavenly  will, 
he  became  so  strengthened  in  his  resolution,  that  returning 
to  his  father,  he  signified  that  he  could  not  disobey  his 


1668.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


215 


heavenly  Parent  by  the  desired  compliance.  On  this,  his 
father,  utterly  disappointed,  and  convinced  that  all  his 
endeavors  to  shake  his  son's  constancy  were  in  vain,  and 
accustomed  to  the  implicit  obedience  of  the  British  navy, 
could  no  longer  endure  him  in  his  sight,  but  again  turned 
him  out  of  doors.  This  was  indeed  a  severe  affliction  to  one 
of  William's  ardent  and  affectionate  disposition ;  but  sup- 
ported by  an  inward  sense  of  rectitude,  he  endured  the 
cross  with  Christian  patience  and  magnanimity. 

His  father,  after  a  time,  became  willing  for  him  to  return 
home  once  more,  though  he  did  not  publicly  appear  to 
countenance  him. 

About  the  year  1668,  being  the  t  wenty -fourth  of  his  age, 
he  first  came  forth  in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  rightly 
called  to  and  qualified  for  that  office ;  being  sent  of  God  to 
teach  what  himself  had  learned  of  Him ;  commissioned 
from  on  high  to  preach  to  others  that  holy  self-denial  him- 
self had  practised  ;  and  exemplifying  in  his  own  course  the 
following  beautiful  description  given  lay  himself  of  the 
ministry  of  the  early  Friends. 

"As  God,"  says  he,  "had  delivered  their  souls  from  the 
wearisome  burdens  of  sin  and  vanity,  and  enriched  their 
poverty  of  spirit,  and  satisfied  their  hunger  and  thirst  after 
eternal  righteousness,  and  filled  them  with  the  good  things 
of  Plis  own  house,  and  made  them  stewards  of  his  manifold 
gifts  ;  so  they  went  forth  to  all  quarters  of  these  nations,  to 
declare  to  the  inhabitants  thereof  what  God  had  done  for 
them ;  what  they  had  found,  and  where  and  how  they  had 
found  it,  viz.:  the  way  to  peace  with  God ;  inviting  them  to 
come,  see,  and  taste  for  themselves,  the  truth  of  what  they 
declared." 

"  But  these  experimental  preachers  of  glad  tidings  of 
God's  truth  and  kingdom,  could  not  run  when  they  list,  or 
pray  or  preach  when  they  pleased  ;  but  as  Christ  their  Re- 
deemer prepared  and  moved  them  by  his  own  blessed  Spirit ; 


216  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1668. 


for  which  they  waited  in  their  services  and  meetings,  and 
spoke  as  that  gave  them  utterance ;  which  was  as  those 
having  authority,  and  not  like  the  dreaming,  dry,  and  for- 
mal Pharisees." 

"  And  truly  they  waxed  strong  and  bold  through  faithful- 
ness ;  and  by  the  power  and  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus  be- 
came very  fruitful ;  thousands,  in  a  short  time,  being  turned 
to  the  truth  in  the  inward  parts  through  their  testimony  in 
ministry  and  suffering ;  many  meetings  were  settled,  and 
daily  there  were  added  such  as  should  be  saved.  For  they 
were  diligent  to  plant  and  to  water,  and  the  Lord  blessed 
their  labors  with  an  exceeding  great  increase,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  opposition  made  to  their  blessed  progress,  by 
false  rumors,  calumnies  and  bitter  persecutions." 

"  It  may  be  said  of  this  abused  and  despised  people,  they 
went  forth  weeping  and  sowed  in  tears,  bearing  testimony 
to  the  precious  Seed,  the  Seed  of  the  kingdom,  which  stands 
not  in  words,  (the  finest,  the  highest  that  man's  wit  can  use,) 
but  in  power — the  power  of  Christ  Jesus  —  who  empowered 
them,  as  their  work  witnesseth,  by  the  many  that  were 
turned  through  their  ministry  from  darkness  to  the  light, 
and  out  of  the  broad  into  the  narrow  way  of  life  and  peace, 
bringing  people  to  a  weighty,  serious  and  godlike  conver- 
sation." 

"  They  were  changed  men  themselves,  before  they  went 
about  to  change  others.  Their  hearts  were  rent,  as  well  as 
their  garments ;  and  they  knew  the  power  and  work  of  God 
upon  them.  This  was  seen  by  the  great  alteration  it  made, 
and  their  stricter  course  of  life,  and  more  godly  conversa- 
tion that  immediately  followed  it.  They  went  not  forth,  or 
preached  in  their  own  time  or  will,  but  in  the  will  of  God  ; 
and  spoke  not  their  own  studied  matter,  but  as  they  were 
moved  by  His  Spirit,  with  which  they  were  well  acquainted 
in  their  own  conversion ;  which  cannot  be  expressed  to 
carnal  men,  so  as  to  give  them  any  intelligible  account ; 


1668.] 


THE  SOCIETY   OF  FEIEXDS. 


217 


for  to  such  it  is,  as  Christ  said,  like  the  blowing  of  the 
wind,  which  no  man  knows,  whence  it  cometh,  or  w^hither 
it  goeth.  Yet  this  proof  and  seal  went  along  with  their 
ministry,  that  many  w^ere  turned  from  their  lifeless  profes- 
sions, and  the  evil  of  their  ways,  to  an  imvard  and  experi- 
mental knowledge  of  God,  and  a  holy  life,  as  thousands 
can  witness.  And  as  they  freely  received  w  hat  they  had  to 
say,  from  the  Lord,  so  they  freely  administered  it  to  others. 

"  The  bent  and  stress  of  their  ministry  was  conversion  to 
God,  regeneration,  and  holiness.  —  They  directed  people  to 
a  principle  in  themselves,  though  not  of  themselves,  by 
which  all  that  they  asserted  might  be  known  to  them, 
through  experience,  to  be  true ;  w'hich  is  a  high  and  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  the  truth  of  their  ministry,  both  that 
they  knew  W'hat  they  said,  and  were  not  afraid  of  coming 
to  the  test.  For  as  they  were  bold  from  certainty,  so  they 
required  conformity  upon  no  human  authority,  but  upon 
conviction  of  this  principle,  which,  they  asserted,  was  in 
them  that  they  preached  unto ;  and  unto  that  they  directed 
them,  that  they  might  prove  the  reality  of  those  things 
wdiich  they  had  affirmed  of  it,  as  to  its  manifestation  and 
work  in  man.  This  is  more  than  the  many  ministers  in 
the  world  pretended  to.  They  declare  of  religion,  say 
many  things  true,  in  w^ords,  of  God,  Christ,  and  the  Spirit ; 
of  holiness,  and  heaven ;  that  all  men  should  repent  and 
amend  their  lives,  or  they  will  go  to  hell,  &c.  But  which  of 
them  all  pretend  to  speak  of  their  own  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence ;  or  ever  directed  to  a  divine  principle  or  agent,  placed 
of  God  in  man,  to  help  him  ;  and  how  to  know  it,  and 
wait  to  feel  its  power  to  work  that  good  and  acceptable  will 
of  God  in  them  ?  Some  of  them  indeed  have  spoken  of 
the  Spirit,  and  the  operations  of  it  to  sanctification,  and 
performance  of  worship  to  God  ;  but  where  and  how  to  find 
it,  and  wait  in  it  to  perform  our  duty  to  God,  was  yet  as  a 
mystery  to  be  declared  by  this  further  degree  of  reforma- 
19 


218 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1668. 


tion.  So  that  this  people  did  not  only  in  words,  more  than 
equally  press  repentance,  conversion  and  holiness,  but  did 
it  knowingly  and  experimentally ;  and  directed  those  to 
whom  they  preached,  to  a  sufficient  principle ;  and  told 
them  where  it  was,  and  by  what  tokens  they  might  know  it, 
and  which  way  they  might  experience  the  power  and  effi- 
cacy of  it  to  their  souls'  happiness.  AVhich  is  more  than 
theory  and  speculation,  upon  which  most  other  ministers 
depend :  for  here  is  certainty ;  a  bottom  upon  which  man 
may  boldly  appear  before  God  in  the  great  day  of  account." 

In  this  spirit  did  William  Penn  go  forth  in  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  and  many  were  the  sufferings  and  trials  to 
which  he  was  subjected,  for  his  devotion  to  the  cause  which 
he  had  so  heartily  espoused.  Some  of  the  remarkable 
transactions  of  this  enlightened  man  we  shall  have  to  re- 
view as  we  pass  along. 


REMARKABLE  CONVERSION  OF  A  W^OMAN  IMPRISONED  FOR 
MURDER.  DEATH  OF  FRANCIS  HOWGILL  IN  PRISON. 

A    REMARKABLE  circumstance  occurred  during  the 


imprisonment  of  William  Bennit  for  conscience  sake, 
in  Bury  jail,  in  the  year  1668. 

One  day,  he  seriously  accosted  a  certain  young  woman, 
who  was  a  criminal,  asking  her,  whether  during  the  course 
of  her  life  she  had  not  many  times  transgressed  against  her 
conscience?  and  whether  thereupon  she  had  not  often  felt 
some  secret  checks  and  inward  reproofs,  and  been  troubled 
in  her  mind  on  account  of  the  evil  committed  ?    This  he 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


1668.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


219 


did  in  such  a  conviuciDg  way,  that  she  not  only  assented  to 
what  he  laid  before  her ;  but,  her  heart  being  reached  by 
his  discourse,  she  came  clearly  to  see,  that  if  she  had  not 
been  so  stubborn  and  disobedient  to  these  inward  reproofs, 
she  would  not  have  come  into  this  miserable  condition. 
For  man  not  desiring  the  knowledge  of  God's  ways,  and 
departing  from  Him,  is  left  helpless,  and  cannot  keep  him- 
self from  evil,  even  though  it  be  such  as  he  would  formerly 
have  abhorred  in  the  highest  degree. 

William  thus  opening  mattei^  to  her,  by  his  wholesome 
admonitions  so  wrought  upon  her  mind,  that  she  who  never 
had  conversed  with  the  Quakers,  and  was  altogether  igno- 
rant of  their  doctrine,  now  came  to  apprehend  that  it  was 
*'the  grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation,"  which  she 
had  so  often  withstood ;  and  to  perceive  that  this  grace  had 
not  yet  quite  forsaken  her,  but  was  now  making  her  sensible 
of  the  greatness  of  her  transgression.  This  consideration 
weighed  so  powerfully  with  her,  that  from  a  most  grievous 
sinner,  she  became  a  true  penitent,  and  with  hearty  sorrow 
she  cried  to  the  Lord,  that  it  might  please  Him  not  to  hide 
his  countenance.  Continuing  in  this  state  of  humiliation 
and  sincere  repentance,  and  persevering  in  watching  unto 
prayer  for  the  pardon  of  her  sins,  she  was  at  length  favored 
with  a  sure  hope  of  forgiveness,  through  the  precious  blood 
of  the  "Immaculate  Lamb,"  who  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners,  and  call  them  to  repentance,  and  who  died  also 
for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Of  this  change,  graciously  wrought  in  her  by  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  revealed  in  her  heart,  she  gave  clear  evidence,  at 
her  trial  before  Judge  Hale ;  who,  having  heard  how  peni- 
tent she  was,  wished  much  to  save  her  from  the  capital 
punishment  due  by  the  law  to  her  offence,  and  accordingly 
had  procured  the  insertion  in  the  indictment,  of  the  words 
"  wilfully  and  designedly,"  hoping  that  thence  she  might 
find  occasion  to  deny  the  charge,  and  so  Lo  quash  the  indict- 


220  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1668. 

ment.  But  she,  being  as  usual  asked  whether  "Guilty  or 
Not  Guilty  ?  "  readily  answered,  "  Guilty."  This  astonished 
the  judge,  who  told  her  that  she  seemed  not  duly  to  con- 
sider what  she  said ;  since  it  could  not  w  ell  be  believed, 
that  such  a  one  as  she,  who,  it  might  be,  had  inconsider- 
ately handled  her  child  in  a  rough  manner,  should  have 
wilfully  and  designedly  killed  it.  Here  the  judge  was 
opening  as  it  were  a  back  door  for  her  to  avoid  the  penalty 
of  death.  But  now,  the  fear  of  God  had  obtained  so  much 
room  in  her  heart,  that  no  tampering  would  do  —  no  fig- 
leaves  could  be  made  use  of  for  a  cover — she  knew  that 
this  would  have  been  adding  sin  to  sin,  and  covering  her- 
self with  a  covering  but  not  of  God's  Spirit.  She  therefore 
plainly  acknowledged  to  the  court,  that  she  had  indeed 
committed  this  wicked  act  intentionally ;  adding,  that 
"having  sinned  thus  grievously,  and  being  now  affected 
with  true  repentance,  she  could  by  no  means  excuse  herself, 
but  was  willing  to  undergo  the  punishment  the  law  required. 
She  could  not  therefore  but  acknowledge  herself  guilty, 
since  otherwise  how  could  she  expect  forgiveness  from  the 
Lord?" 

This  undisguised  and  free  confession,  spoken  with  a  se- 
rious countenance  and  demeanor,  so  affected  Judge  Hale, 
that  with  tears  trickling  down  his  face,  he  sorrowfully  said- 
"  Woman,  such  a  case  as  this  I  never  met  with  before. 
Perhaps  you,  who  are  but  young,  and  speak  so  piously,  as 
being  struck  to  the  heart  with  repentance,  might  yet  do 
much  good  in  the  world.  But  now  you  force  me,  that  ex 
officio  I  must  pronounce  sentence  of  death  against  you,  since 
you  will  admit  of  no  excuse."  Standing  to  what  she  had 
said,  the  judge  then  pronounced  the  sentence  of  death. 

When  afterwards  she  came  to  the  place  of  execution, 
she  made  a  pathetic  speech  to  the  people,  exhorting  the 
spectators,  especially  those  who  were  young,  to  have  the 
fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  to  give  heed  to  His  secret 


1668.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


221 


reproofs  for  evil,  and  so  not  to  grieve  and  resist  the  good 
Spirit  of  the  Lord :  she  not  having  timely  attended  to  this, 
had  run  on  in  evil,  and  thus  proceeding  from  one  wicked- 
ness to  another,  had  brought  herself  to  this  dismal  exit. 
But  since  she  firmly  trusted  in  God's  infinite  mercy,  nay 
surely  believed  that  her  sins,  though  of  a  bloody  dye,  were 
washed  off  by  the  pure  blood  of  Christ,  her  Eedeemer,  she 
could  contentedly  depart  this  life.  Thus  she  preached  at 
the  gallows,  a  doctrine  very  consonant  with  the  views  of 
the  people  called  Quakers,  and  gave  heart-melting  proofs 
that  her  immortal  soul  was  to  enter  into  paradise,  as  well 
as  in  ancient  days  that  of  the  thief  on  the  cross. 

This  year,  died  Francis  Howgill,  a  prisoner  for  the  cause 
of  Truth,  in  Appleby  jail.  He  had  been  imprisoned  in  the 
year  1663,  and  the  next  year  sentenced  under  premunire,  to 
be  confined  during  his  life,  and  his  property  confiscated  to 
the  king;  without  any  other  crime  being  found  against 
him,  than  that  he  could  not  transgress  the  command  of  his 
Divine  Master,  to  "swear  not  at  all,"  nor  bind  himself  by 
any  agreement  to  forsake  the  assembling  together  with  his 
Friends  for  the  worship  of  Almighty  God,  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  "Hard  sentence,"  he  remarked  to  the  court,  "for 
obeying  the  command  of  Christ :  but  I  am  content  and  in 
perfect  peace  with  the  Lord ;  and  the  Lord  forgive  you 
all — it  is  for  Christ's  sake  I  suffer,  and  not  for  evil  doing." 
Being  by  this  sentence  "  put  out  of  the  king's  protection," 
he  was  remanded  to  the  prison  where  he  first  suffered  for  his 
righteous  testimony,  and  remained  there  until  released  by 
death,  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1668,  after  an  illness  of 
nine  days. 

During  his  long  iinprisonment  in  this  filthy  jail,  he 
evinced  the  peaceful  condition  of  his  soul,  by  great  patience 
and  resignation  to  all  his  sufferings  ;  and  his  outward  losses 
were  abundantly  compensated  by  that  inward  consolation 
which  the  Lord  alone  can  bestow.  As  he  approached  the 
19* 


222 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1668. 


close  of  life,  having  passed  the  time  of  his  sojourning  here 
in  fear,  he  met  his  change  with  great  serenity,  and  felt  the 
sting  of  death  to  be  taken  away.  He  said  he  was  content 
and  ready  to  die — praised  the  Almighty  for  the  many 
sweet  enjoyments  and  refreshing  seasons,  wherewith  he  had 
been  favored,  while  lying  on  that  prison-bed,  —  and  freely 
forgave  all  who  had  had  a  hand  in  his  restraint.  To  his  wife 
and  others,  two  days  before  his  death,  he  gave  a  message  of 
his  dear  love  to  his  friends,  adding,  "As  for  me,  I  am  well, 
and  content  to  die — I  am  not  afraid  at  all  of  death." 
And  the  mayor  of  Appleby  visiting  him,  and  some  persons 
present,  praying  that  God  might  speak  peace  to  his  soul,  he 
answered  emphatically,  "He  hath  done  it." 

A  few  hours  before  he  departed,  some  friends  from  a  dis- 
tance came  to  visit  him  in  his  prison.  He  inquired  after 
their  welfare,  and  prayed  fervently,  "that  the  Lord  by  his 
mighty  power  might  preserve  them  out  of  all  such  things 
as  would  spot  and  defile."  His  voice  soon  afterwards  failed 
through  weakness;  but  recovering,  he  said,  "I  have  sought 
the  way  of  the  Lord  from  a  child,  and  lived  innocently 
among  men ;  and  if  any  inquire  concerning  my  latter  end, 
let  them  know,  that  I  die  in  the  faith  which  I  have  lived 
in  and  suffered  for."  After  this,  he  uttered  a  few  w^ords  in 
prayer,  and  so  finished  his  earthly  course  in  perfect  peace, 
in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  Conspicuous  for  his  virtues, 
and  the  innocence  and  integrity  of  his  life,  the  malicious 
efforts  of  his  enemies  were  unable  to  sully  his  reputation ; 
he  was  generally  respected  and  esteemed  by  those  who  knew 
him,  even  though  not  of  his  religious  persuasion ;  his  suf- 
ferings were  commiserated,  and  the  unmerited  cruelty  of 
his  persecutors  justly  condemned. 


1668.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


223 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MEETINGS  FOR  DISCIPLINE  INSTITUTED  IN  THE  SOCIETY. — 

GEORGE  FOX  GOES  TO  AMERICA  AND   RETURNING,  IS 

IMPRISONED  AT  WORCESTER. 

IT  was  about  this  time  that  the  Society  of  Friends  assumed 
the  form  of  a  more  regularly  organized  body,  under  the 
advice  of  George  Fox  and  those  deeply  experienced  men  and 
women  who  felt  and  labored  with  him,  by  the  institution  of 
meetings  held  periodically,  for  the  good  ordering  of  the 
affairs  of  the  church.  It  will  therefore  be  appropriate  in 
this  part  of  our  history,  to  consider  briefly  the  steps  by  which 
this  important  and  highly  useful  feature  was  gradually 
introduced. 

Many  of  the  early  members  of  the  Society  were  poor  as  to 
this  world's  goods,  though  rich  in  faith ;  and  the  constant 
persecutions  to  which  for  many  years  they  were  subjected, 
reduced  many  of  them  to  great  destitution.  But  brotherly 
kindness  abounded.  Those  who  possessed  pecuniary  means 
remembered  to  do  good  and  to  communicate ;  they  dared 
not  esteem  all  that  they  possessed  as  exclusively  their 
\  own ;  but  felt  bound  to  use  it  freely,  in  relieving  with  a 
noble  liberality  the  necessities  of  their  suffering  brethren, 
remembering  that  they  were  all  members  of  one  body, 
"  striving  together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel,"  and  when  one 
member  suffered,  all  the  members  must  suffer  with  it.  This 
feeling  being  general,  and  the  necessities  of  families  deprived 
of  their  means  of  subsistence  by  the  imprisonment  of  one  or 
both  of  the  heads  being  often  pressing,  the  propriety  of  meet- 
ing together  occasionally,  to  consider  the  circumstances  of 


224  HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF  [1668. 


such,  became  apparent ;  and  hence  the  first  meetings  for  the 
affairs  of  the  church  had  their  origin.  In  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  marriages  also,  they  could  not  conscientiously 
follow  the  practice,  either  of  those  on  the  one  hand,  who, 
forgetting  the  religious  nature  of  the  compact,  and  consider- 
ing it  as  a  merely  civil  act,  were  accustomed  to  accomplish 
it  before  a  magistrate ;  or  on  the  other,  of  those  who  called 
in  the  assistance  of  a  hireling  ministry,  and  thus  sanctioned 
an  interference  with  the  prerogative  of  the  Lord  alone  to 
join  persons  in  that  solemn  covenant.  They  were  thus  led 
to  the  performance  of  their  marriages  among  themselves : 
and  remembering  the  apostolic  advice,  that  "  all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order,"  they  were  especially  careful 
in  this  solemn  undertaking,  that  no  cause  of  offence  should 
be  given,  either  by  any  appearance  of  secrecy  in  the  manner 
pf  accomplishing  it,  or  by  joining  persons  already  entangled 
in  other  engagements,  or  so  nearly  related  as  to  render  such 
connection  improper.  In  connection  also  with  this  subject, 
was  the  due  recording  of  births  and  deaths,  taken  care  of 
by  these  early  meetings  for  business. 

Strict  integrity  and  uprightness  was  one  of  the  first  fruits 
of  that  spirit  by  which  our  early  Friends  w^ere  led  to  forsake 
the  Avays  of  a  corrupt  world.  They  considered  the  prevail- 
ing standard  much  below  the  morality  required  by  the 
Gospel ;  and  regulating  their  conduct  towards  their  fellow- 
man  by  the  rule  laid  down  by  our  blessed  Saviour,  "  What- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so 
to  them ; "  their  truthfulness  and  honesty  drew  upon  them 
the  observation  of  their  neighbors.  George  Fox  was  anxious 
that  all  should  walk  consistently  with  the  high  character 
the  Society  had  obtained,  and  not  be  induced  to  extend  their 
business  improperly,  or  promote  their  worldly  advantage  by 
unfair  means.  Several  of  his  early  epistles  recommended 
well-concerned  Friends  to  watch  over  their  brethren  in  love ; 
and  many  of  his  fellow-laborers  earnestly  endeavored  to 


1668.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


225 


promote  that  Christian  moderation  which  avoids  rather  than 
seeks  riches,  as  well  as  the  exercise  of  caution  in  contracting, 
and  promptness  in  paying  debts. 

The  care  also  of  granting  certificates  to  those  who  travelled 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  testifying  the  unity  of  their 
Friends  at  home  with  their  so  doing;  and  for  those  who 
removed  to  settle  within  other  monthly  meetings ;  the 
religious  education  of  the  youth,  which  was  a  subject  very 
near  the  heart  of  George  Fox,  as  vitally  affecting  the  pro- 
gressive welfare  of  the  Society ;  the  purchase  and  care  of 
burial-grounds,  where  the  deceased  members  might  be 
interred,  free  from  the  ofiicious  interference  of  the  priests, 
and  away  from  the  crowd  of  costly  and  pompous  monuments, 
which  they  considered  inconsistent  with  the  profession  of  a 
Christian,  and  designed  to  gratify  the  pride  of  survivors  ;  — 
these  were  among  the  subjects  which  early  engaged  the 
attention  of  those  gatherings  of  the  church,  which  George 
Fox  had  seen  it  right  to  recommend  to  his  Friends  to  estab- 
lish, for  the  regulation  of  their  common  affairs.  And  last, 
though  not  least  in  importance,  the  preservation  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  members  clear  from  inconsistencies  and  stains, 
and  breaches  of  those  testimonies  which  they  were  as  a  body 
holding  forth  before  the  world,  rendered  the  necessity 
obvious,  as  the  Society  rapidly  increased  in  numbers,  that 
some  mode  of  church  government  should  be  instituted,  by 
which  the  conduct  of  the  members  might  be  inspected  and 
restrained.  George  Fox  considered  the  church  as  a  har- 
monious and  compact  body,  made  up  of  living  members, 
having  gifts  difiering  according  to  the  measure  of  grace 
received,  yet  all  dependent  one  on  another,  and  each,  even 
the  weakest  and  lowest,  having  his  proper  place  and  service: 
and  as  the  very  design  of  religious  society  is  the  preserva- 
tion, comfort,  and  edification  of  the  members,  and  all  have 
a  common  interest  herein,  so  he  considered  every  faithful 
member  religiously  bound  to  contribute,  according  to  his 


226 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1668. 


capacity,  toward  this  attainment.  Our  Lord  himself  laid 
down  a  rule  for  the  observance  of  his  church,  in  the  treat- 
ment of  those  who  should  commit  offences.  "  If  thy  brother 
shall  trespass  against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between 
thee  and  him  alone.  If  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained 
thy  brother.  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  then  take  with 
thee  one  or  two  more ;  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three 
witnesses,  every  word  may  be  established.  And  if  he  shall 
neglect  to  hear  them,  tell  it  to  the  church  ;  but  if  he  neglect 
to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man 
and  a  publican."  And  the  apostle  Paul,  in  writing  to  the 
Galatians,  thus  exhorts  them  :  "  Brethren,  if  a  man  be  over- 
taken in  a  fault,  ye  who  are  spiritual,  restore  such  an  one  in 
the  spirit  of  meekness  ;  considering  thyself,  lest  thou  also  be 
tempted."  These  injunctions  were  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  the  discipline  established  by  the  Society  of  Friends, 
simple,  beautiful,  and  when  fully  carried  out  in  practice, 
often  efficient,  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
reclaiming  the  wanderer  from  the  fold. 

The  first  General  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  perhaps  that 
held  at  Balby,  in  Yorkshire,  in  1656,  which  issued  certain 
wholesome  advices.  Quarterly  Meetings  were  soon  after- 
wards established,  which  appear  to  have  exercised  much  the 
same  functions  as  our  Monthly  Meetings  now  have.  In  the 
year  1668,  the  Monthly  Meetings  were  generally  settled 
through  England.  The  same  year  there  was  a  General 
Meeting  held  in  London,  from  which  an  epistle  was  issued 
to  the  Society  ;  and  in  1672,  another  General  Meeting  of 
ministers,  held  also  in  London,  at  which  it  was  agreed  that 
a  representative  General  Meeting  should  be  annually  held 
in  London,  "  for  the  better  ordering,  managing,  and  regulat- 
ing of  the  public  affairs  of  Friends."  The  Representative 
Yearly  Meeting,  however,  which  met  in  the  succeeding  year, 
concluded  to  leave  the  management  of  these  affairs,  and  the 
general  care  of  the  church,  for  the  present,  in  the  hands  of 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


227 


the  annual  General  Meeting  of  Ministers  ;  and  it  was  not 
till  the  year  1678,  that  they  were  again  convened  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  latter  meeting.  Monthly  Meetings  in 
some  parts  of  America,  were  established  about  the  year  1669  ; 
and  a  Yearly  Meeting  was  held  in  Rhode  Island,  for  the 
Society  in  New  England,  in  1671,  if  not  a  year  or  two  pre- 
viously. Other  Yearly  Meetings  were  subsequently  estab- 
lished in  the  North  American  colonies,  as  the  increase  of  the 
Society  rendered  it  necessary. 

The  Society  has  now  for  many  years  been  thus  organized. 
The  members  residing  at  convenient  distances  from  each 
other,  whether  composing  one  particular  meeting  for  worship, 
or  more  than  one,  united  to  form  a  "  Monthly  Meeting,"  for 
the  transaction  of  the  affairs  of  the  church,  composed  of  one 
or  more  subordinate  or  "  Preparative  "  meetings,  in  which 
some  portions  of  the  business  were  prepared  for  the  action  of 
the  former  body.  Several  of  these  monthly  meetings  united, 
formed  a  "  Quarterly"  meeting,  to  which  representatives  were 
sent  from  each  of  the  constituent  monthly  meetings ;  and 
again  the  quarterly  meetings  situated  in  a  particular  country 
or  state,  or  in  contiguous  states,  formed  a  "  Yearly  "  meeting. 
These  yearly  meetings  were  the  highest  assemblies  known 
to  the  Society,  and  only  amenable  to  the  judgment  of  Truth 
in  the  body  at  large,  as  a  part  of  the  great  brotherhood  of 
the  church. 

Besides  the  above,  there  are  Monthly  or  Preparative, 
Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings  of  the  Ministers  and  Elders, 
in  connection  with  the  respective  meetings  for  discipline. 
These  "  select  meetings  "  are  designed  to  be  composed  of  such 
ministers  as,  having  given  proof  of  a  divine  gift  for  the 
ministry,  have  been  officially  recognized  in  that  capacity  by 
their  Friends,  and  of  elders  appointed  to  watch  over  the 
ministry  particularly,  and  generally  over  the  flock.  Besides 
the  elders,  there  are  overseers  appointed  in  each  Monthly 
Meeting,  to  take  a  more  special  charge  of  the  coiidiu  t  of  the 


228 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1671. 


members,  and  to  see  that  all  walk  orderly,  according  to  their 
Christian  profession. 

It  early  appeared  to  the  clear  and  comprehensive  mind 
of  George  Fox,  that  advantage  would  arise  to  the  body,  from 
the  concerns  of  the  female  members  being  attended  to  by 
their  own  sex :  and  accordingly,  women's  meetings  for  dis- 
cipline were  recommended  by  him  to  be  held  in  the  same 
manner  as  those  for  the  men,  to  whom  they  might  be  help- 
meets, in  the  restoration  of  offenders,  in  the  care  of  their  own 
poor,  and  in  other  affairs  of  the  church,  as  they  are  outwardly 
in  civil  and  temporal  things.  They  were  instituted  soon 
after  those  for  the  men,  and  served  to  complete  that  system 
of  order  and  government,  in' which  a  field  was  opened  for 
the  exercise  of  the  various  gifts  by  which  the  church,  the 
body  of  Christ,  is  edified. 

A  new  field  of  operation  now  opened  before  the  expansive 
mind  of  that  remarkable  man,  who  was  so  eminent  an  instru- 
ment in  the  good  work  which  we  have  just  contemplated. 

George  Fox's  wife  had  lain  for  several  years  in  prison, 
under  a  sentence  of  premunire ;  but  was  finally  released  in 
1671 ;  and  shortly  afterwards,  George  finding  it  laid  upon 
him  to  visit  the  churches  beyond  the  Atlantic,  took  leave 
of  her  and  his  numerous  other  friends  in  England,  and  sailed 
in  company  with  several  Friends  for  Barbadoes.  Two 
remarkable  interpositions  of  the  protecting  care  of  Divine 
Providence  attended  him  during  this  voyage.  The  ship  was 
chased  by  a  Sallee  *  man-of-war,  when  about  three  weeks  at 
sea,  and  seemed  to  have  no  way  of  escape  from  her.  She 
gained  rapidly  upon  them,  though  they  altered  their  course 
with  the  hope  of  eluding  her  pursuit.  At  night  the  captain 
and  others  came  into  George  Fox's  cabin,  asking  him  "what 

*  Sallee,  or  Sale,  a  town  on  the  coast  of  Morocco,  about  halfway 
between  Cape  Blanco  and  Tangier,  noted  for  the  boldness  of  its 
pirates,  but.  now  much  in  ruins. 


1671.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


229 


they  must  do?"  He  told  them,  "he  was  no  mariner." 
They  said,  "there  were  but  two  ways  of  escape  —  either  to 
outrun  the  enemy,  or  to  tack  about."  George  replied,  that 
"  they  might  be  sure  the  enemy  would  tack  about  too  ;  and 
as  for  outrunning  him,  it  Avas  to  no  purpose  to  talk  of  that, 
for  they  saw  he  sailed  faster  than  they  did."  They  asked 
him  again,  in  consternation  and  perplexity,  "what  they 
should  do  ?  for,"  they  added,  "  if  the  mariners  had  taken 
Paul's  counsel,  they  had  not  come  to  the  damage  they  did." 
George  answered  them,  that  "  it  was  a  trial  of  faith,  and 
therefore  the  Lord  was  to  be  waited  on  for  counsel ; "  and 
retiring,  himself,  in  spirit  unto  the  Almighty,  the  Lord 
showed  him  "  that  His  divine  life  and  power  was  placed 
between  them  and  the  ship  that  pursued  them."  He  told 
this  to  the  captain,  desiring  that  all  the  lights,  except  the 
one  used  to  steer  by,  should  be  put  out,  and  that  all  should 
remain  very  quiet.  About  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  the  man 
on  watch  called  out  that  the  enemy  was  just  upon  them ; 
which  alarmed  some  of  the  passengers.  George  looking  out 
of  the  port-hole  of  his  cabin,  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  which 
had  not  quite  set,  saw  them  very  near  the  vessel ;  and  was 
getting  up  to  go  on  deck  ;  but  remembering  the  Lord's  word, 
which  had  been  whispered  into  his  mental  ear,  "  that  His 
life  and  power  was  placed  between  them,"  he  quietly  lay 
down  again,  and  awaited  the  result  in  faith.  In  a  little 
time,  the  moon  went  down,  a  fresh  breeze  arose,  the  Lord 
hid  them  from  the  enemy,  and  they  sailed  briskly  on,  and 
saw  them  no  more.  The  next  day,  being  the  First-day  of 
the  week,  Friends  had  a  public  meeting  for  worship  on  board, 
in  which  the  Divine  presence  was  eminently  felt :  and  George 
Fox  exhorted  the  ship's  company  "  to  mind  the  mercies  of 
the  Lord,  who  had  delivered  them ;  for  they  might  all  have 
been  by  that  time  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  had  not  the 
Lord's  hand  saved  them."  It  afterwards  appeared,  by  the 
testimony  of  a  merchant  who  arrived  in  Barbadoes  from  the 
20 


230 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1671. 


port  to  which  this  piratical  vessel  belonged,  that  its  captain 
had  been  struck  with  the  remarkable  deliverance  of  their 
ship  out  of  his  hands,  when  he  thought  himself  sure  of  the 
prize,  and  acknowledged  his  belief  that  "  there  was  a  spirit 
in  her  which  he  could  not  take." 

Soon  after  George  Fox's  arrival  in  Barbadoes,  he  was 
informed  of  the  death  of  a  young  man  who  had  imbibed  an 
implacable  enmity  against  him,  and  meditated  his  destruc- 
tion. This  young  man,  a  person  of  some  worldly  account,  but 
a  common  swearer  and  very  bad  man,  when  in  London  some 
time  before,  had  addressed  the  daughter  of  a  Friend  in  order 
to  marriage,  having  an  eye  to  her  property.  George  being 
one  of  her  guardians,  had  plainly  told  him  that  "  he  should 
betray  the  trust  reposed  in  him,  if  he  should  consent  that 
he,  who  was  out  of  the  fear  of  God,  should  marry  her ;  and 
that  he  would  not  do  it."  The  young  man  returned  to  Bar- 
badoes greatly  incensed,  and  afterwards,  hearing  that  George 
was  likely  soon  lo  arrive  in  the  island,  he  swore  desperately, 
and  threatened  that  "  if  he  could  possibly  procure  it,  he 
would  have  him  burned  to  death  when  he  came  there." 
Repeating  this  threat  to  a  Friend,  who  was  expostulating 
with  him,  the  latter  warned  him :  "  Do  not  march  on  too 
furiously,  lest  thou  come  too  soon  to  thy  journey's  end." 
About  ten  days  after  this,  he  was  struck  with  a  violent 
burning  fever,  of  which  he  died,  and  was  carried  to  the  grave 
three  days  before  George  arrived  in  the  island. 

The  constitution  of  this  indefatigable  laborer  in  the 
Lord's  vineyard  had  been  much  shattered  by  the  severe 
sufferings  he  had  undergone  for  many  years  in  the  service 
of  truth ;  so  that  the  voyage  greatly  affected  him,  and  he 
was,  for  many  weeks  after  his  arrival,  laid  up  with  severe 
illness.  But  being  favored  at  length  with  a  recovery,  he 
was  diligent  in  strengthening  the  Society  in  that  distant 
part,  and  building  them  up  in  comely  gospel  order.  Here 
also,  in  conjunction  with  some  other  Friends,  he  drew  up 


1672.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


231 


an  address  to  the  governor  and  council  of  Barbadoes,  set- 
ting forth,  in  the  name  of  the  Society,  their  true  Christian 
belief  in  the  divinity  and  atonement  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  divine  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures ;  and  vindicating  Friends  from  the  mali- 
cious charge,  which  some  had  brought  against  them,  of 
teaching  the  negroes  to  rebel,  because  they  felt  it  to  be  their 
Christian  duty  to  treat  them  kindly,  to  give  them  instruc- 
tion, and  to  hold  meetings  with  them  for  divine  worship 
and  religious  edification. 

Having  remained  in  Barbadoes  about  three  months, 
George  Fox,  William  Edmundson,  Elizabeth  Hooton,  and 
some  other  Friends,  departed  to  Jamaica,  where  they  trav- 
elled up  and  down  the  island,  and  had  much  service. 
Many  were  convinced  of  the  truth  of  their  principles,  and 
they  met  with  no  opposition.  Here  Elizabeth  Hooton,  who 
had  received  a  gift  in  the  ministry  as  early  as  1650,  and 
was  consequently  the  first  female  minister  raised  up  among 
Friends,  peacefully  laid  down  the  body,  and  departed  to 
her  heavenly  rest. 

George  Fox,  William  Edmundson,  and  Robert  Widders, 
having  spent  about  seven  weeks  in  Jamaica,  embarked  for 
Maryland.  They  had  a  very  tempestuous  voyage,  and  ran 
short  of  provisions ;  but  through  the  goodness  of  the  Lord, 
in  whose  protecting  care  they  trusted,  they  were  favored  to 
arrive  safely.  A  vessel  which  sailed  in  company  with  them, 
the  captain  of  which  had  offered  to  convey  the  Friends  to 
Maryland,  but  demanded  an  exorbitant  price  for  their  pas- 
sage, fell  among  the  Spaniards ;  by  whom  she  was  taken 
and  plundered,  and  the  master  and  mate  were  made 
prisoners. 

Near  the  place  where  they  landed,  they  held  several 
meetings  with  Friends,  and  with  the  native  Indians  of  the 
country ;  and  then  George  Fox  and  his  companions  trav- 
elled through  the  woods  to  Newcastle  on  the  Delaware, 


232 


TTTSTOKTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1672. 


crossed  that  river  in  canoes,  with  great  risk  to  their  lives, 
and  dived  into  the  forests  of  what  is  now  called  New  Jer- 
sey ;  but  which  was  then  inhabited  only  by  Indians.  They 
had  a  wilderness  journey,  sometimes  lying  at  nights  in  the 
woods  by  a  fire,  and  at  other  times  in  the  Indians'  wigwams. 
They  hastened  to  be  at  the  half-yearly  meeting  of  Friends 
at  Oyster  Bay,  on  Long  Island;  where  they  labored  success- 
fully for  the  establishment  of  wholesome  discipline  in  the 
church,  to  the  exposing  and  confounding  of  some  ranting 
spirits,  who  had  "  run  out  from  truth  into  prejudice,  con- 
tention, and  opposition  to  the  order  of  Truth,  and  to 
Friends  therein."  These,  George  Fox  says,  "had  been 
very  troublesome  to  Friends — but  I  would  not  suffer  the 
service  of  our  men's  and  women's  meetings  to  be  interrupted 
and  hindered  by  their  cavils."  A  subsequent  meeting  was 
appointed  for  a  conference  with  these  opposers,  at  which,  he 
adds,  "  the  glorious  truth  of  God  was  exalted  and  set  over 
all,  and  they  were  all  brought  down  and  bowed  under; 
which  was  of  great  service  to  truth,  and  satisfaction  and 
comfort  to  Friends ;  Glory  to  the  Lord  forever." 

Thence  they  proceeded  by  sea  to  Rhode  Island ;  and  at- 
tended the  Yearly  Meeting  for  New  England ;  in  which 
also  George  Fox  was  much  concerned  for  the  establishment 
of  meetings  for  discipline,  "  that  all  might  be  kept  clean," 
and  "to  take  care  of  the  poor,  and  other  affairs  of  the 
church ;  and  to  see,  that  all  who  profess  truth,  walk  accord- 
ing to  the  glorious  gospel  of  God."  He  was  very  gladly 
received  by  the  people  generally  in  Rhode  Island  and  the 
parts  adjacent ;  but  finding  they  began  to  talk  of  hiring  him 
to  be  their  minister,  not  understanding  the  principles  of 
Friends,  he  told  some,  that  "  it  was  time  for  him  to  be  gone ; 
for  if  their  eye  was  so  much  to  him,  or  any  of  his  companions, 
they  would  not  come  to  their  own  Teacher,"  even  Christ 
Jesus,  the  Minister  of  ministers.  He  accordingly  departed 
to  Shelter  Island,  had  some  good  meetings  there  with  the 


1672.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKTEXDS. 


233 


white  inhabitants  and  with  the  native  Indians  ;  then  returned 
to  Long  Island  ;  and  afterwards  crossed  to  Kew^  Jersey  again. 
They  rode  thirty  miles  through  the  woods  and  over  very  bad 
bogs,  the  descent  into  one  of  which  was  so  steep,  that  they 
had  to  slide  down  with  their  horses,  and  then  let  them  lie  to 
take  breath,  before  they  could  proceed.  Among  Friends  in 
Xew  Jersey,  who,  it  seems,  were  principally  about  Shrews- 
bury, he  was  again  instrumental  in  promoting  the  establish- 
ment of  men's  and  women's  meetings  for  the  discipline  of  the 
church,  "  to  see  that  all  who  profess  the  holy  truth,  live  in 
the  pure  religion,  and  walk  as  becometh  the  gospel." 

While  they  were  at  Shrewsbury,  an  accident  occurred, 
which  was  near  proving  fatal  to  one  of  their  company.  John 
Jay,  a  Friend  of  Barbadoes,  who  had  accompanied  them 
from  Rhode  Island,  and  was  escorting  them  through  the 
woods  to  Maryland,  was  throv/n  from  a  horse,  and  supposed 
to  have  "  broken  his  neck."  He  was  taken  up  as  dead,  and 
laid  upon  a  log.  George  Fox  got  to  him  as  soon  as  he 
could,  and  feeling  him,  concluded  he  Avas  really  dead :  but 
as  he  stood  by  him,  pitying  him  and  his  family,  he  found 
his  neck  was  so  limber,  that  his  head  would  turn  any  way. 
Whereupon,  he  took  the  Friend's  head  in  both  his  hands, 
and  setting  his  knees  against  the  log,  he  raised  the  head  with 
all  his  might,  and  restored  it  to  its  place.  The  dislocation 
of  the  neck  being  thus  reduced,  he  soon  began  to  'breathe ; 
and  other  measures  being  taken  for  his  restoration,  he  quickly 
recovered,  so  as  to  be  able  to  resume  his  journey  with  them 
the  next  day. 

They  now  had  a  long  and  dreary  wilderness  journey  again 
to  encounter,  across  New  Jersey  and  down  towards  the 
Delaware  Bay.  Philadelphia  was  not  in  existence,  and  they 
met  with  few  except  Indians,  had  many  rivers  to  cross,  were 
often  very  wet  with  exposure  to  storms,  and  had  to  lie 
generally  in  the  woods  at  night.  This  autumn  and  much 
of  the  ensuing  winter,  they  spent  in  travelling  through 
20* 


234 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1673. 


Maryland,  Virginia,  and  some  parts  of  Carolina ;  and 
towards  the  spring  of  1673,  "  having,"  as  Geo.  Fox  expresses 
it,  "alarmed  people  of  all  sorts  where  they  came,  and  pro- 
claimed the  day  of  God's  salvation  amongst  them,  they  found 
their  spirits  began  to  be  clear  of  those  parts  of  the  world, 
and  to  draw  towards  Old  England  again."  Accordingly, 
after  attending  the  general  meeting  of  Friends  for  Maryland, 
which  "  was  a  wonderful,  glorious  meeting,  and  the  mighty 
presence  of  the  Lord  was  seen  and  felt  over  all,"  George  and 
his  companions  took  leave  of  their  Friends  in  great  tender- 
ness, and  sailed  for  England  ;  where,  after  a  prosperous 
voyage,  they  were  favored  to  arrive  in  safety,  on  the  28th 
of  the  Fourth  month,  1673. 

This  indefatigable  servant  of  Christ  had  not  been  long 
returned  to  his  native  land,  before  he  was  called  to  suffer  a 
long  and  hard  imprisonment,  for  preaching  at  a  religious 
meeting  in  Worcestershire.  He  was  sentenced  under  pre- 
munire  to  imprisonment  for  life.  Interest  was  made  by  some 
to  the  king  to  get  him  released  ;  but  he  knowing  his  inno- 
cence, would  not  accept  of  a  pardon,  which  was  the  only  way 
in  which  the  king  could  release  him.  As  the  acceptance  of 
this  would  have  implied  a  confession  of  guilt,  George  Fox 
declaimed  that  he  would  rather  have  lain  in  prison  all  his 
days,  than  come  out  in  any  way  dishonorable  to  the  truth ; 
and  therefore,  knowing  that  his  imprisonment  was  not  only 
unjust  but  illegal  also,  he  chose  to  have  the  validity  of  his 
indictment  tried  before  Judge  Hale ;  who  released  him  by 
proclamation,  after  having  been  a  prisoner  nearly  fourteen 
months.  He  was  thus  fairly  set  at  liberty  without  any 
pardon,  or  coming  under  any  engagement  or  obligation  to 
compromise  his  principles. 


1670.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


235 


CHAPTER  XXVL 

THE  TRIAL  OF  WILLIAM  PENN  AND  WILLIAM  MEAD  AT  THE 
OLD  BAILEY  DESTRUCTION  OF  FRIENDS'  MEETING- 
HOUSES. 

AN  Act  of  Parliament,  called  the  Conventicle  Act,  was 
passed  in  the  year  1670,  the  intent  of  which  was  to 
suppress  all  meetings  for  divine  worship  except  those  of  the 
established  form  of  religion,  particularly  those  of  the  Pres- 
byterians, who  were  obnoxious  to  the  court ;  though  its 
force  fell  principally  upon  Friends,  who  stood  most  exposed 
to  its  action,  from  their  well-known  practice  of  standing 
firmly  for  their  principles,  and  not  flinching  from  suffering 
for  the  cause  of  their  Divine  Mastei'. 

The  zeal  of  the  magistrates  of  London  in  carrying  into 
effect  this  oppressive  law,  and  the  noble  intrejoidity  of  Wil- 
liam Penn  in  defence  of  his  inalienable  rights,  brought 
about  this  year  one  of  the  most  memorable  judicial  trials 
in  English  history ;  which  did  more  to  promote  clear  views 
of  the  liberty  of  conscience,  and  to  establish  the  great 
privilege  of  trial  by  jury  on  its  just  foundation,  than  per- 
haps was  ever  effected  by  the  personal  exertions  Df  any 
other  man.  Its  importance  will  warrant  our  pursuing  it  in 
some  of  its  details. 

Friends  being  forcibly  kept  out  of  their  meeting-houses 
in  Gracechurch  street,  found  themselves  constrained  to  meet 
as  near  the  premises  as  practicable  ;  and  accordingly  held 
their  meeting  in  the  open  street,  as  a  public  testimony  of 
their  allegiance  to  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh.  Wil- 
liam Penn  was  one  of  the  number  thus  assembled,  and 
addressing  the  people  in  the  love  and  authority  of  the  Gos- 
pel, he  and  William  Mead  were  apprehended  and  com- 


236 


HTSTORTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1670. 


mitted  to  Newgate  prison ;  and  at  the  next  sessions  at  the 
Old  Bailey  were  indicted  for  "  being  present  at,  and  preach- 
ing to,  an  unlawful,  seditious,  and  riotous  assembly." 

The  indictment  set  forth,  that  William  Penn  and  Wil- 
liam Mead,  with  other  persons  to  the  number  of  three  hun- 
dred, on  the  15th  of  August,  with  force  and  arms  tumultu- 
ously  assembled,  and  that  William  Penn,  by  agreement 
between  him  and  William  Mead,  had  preached  there  in 
the  public  street,  whereby  was  caused  a  great  concourse  of 
people,  to  the  great  disturbance  of  the  peace,  and  terror  of 
the  king's  subjects.  To  this  indictment  they  both  pleaded 
"  not  guilty  ;  "  after  which  they  were  detained  in  court  five 
hours,  waiting  for  the  trial  of  some  felons,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Newgate  prison.  Two  days  after,  they  were 
brought  up  again ;  when  the  court  more  openly  manifested 
a  preconcerted  design  to  treat  them  with  the  utmost  severity, 
and  take  every  unfair  advantage  against  them ;  although 
they  had  before  promised  William  Penn  on  his  urgent 
remonstrance,  that  no  advantage  should  be  taken  of  them, 
but  that  they  should  have  liberty  to  be  heard  in  their  own 
defence.  On  this  occasion,  coming  into  court,  the  officers 
had  taken  off  the  hats  of  the  prisoners ;  but  the  mayor 
sharply  reproved  their  officiousness,  as  it  did  not  suit  his 
present  intentions,  and  ordered  their  hats  to  be  replaced ; 
and  when  they  thus  appeared  in  the  court  covered,  they 
were  fined  for  it  forty  marks  apiece,  the  injustice  of  which 
was  particularly  evident  in  William  Mead's  case,  inasmuch 
as  he  had  not  even  been  spoken  to  by  the  court  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  jury  were  desired  to  take  notice  of  this  arbi- 
trary act:  after  which  three  witnesses  deposed  that  they 
saw  William  Penn  speaking  to  the  people  assembled  in 
great  numbers  in  the  street ;  but  they  could  not  hear  what 
he  said.  William  Penn,  to  this,  after  requesting  silence  in 
the  court,  addressed  them  thus :  "  We  confess  ourselves  to 
be  so  far  from  declining  to  vindicate  the  assembling  of  our- 


1670.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


237 


selves,  to  preach,  pray,  or  worship  the  eternal,  holy,  just 
God,  that  we  declare  to  all  the  world,  that  we  do  believe  it 
to  be  our  indispensable  duty  to  meet  incessantly  upon  so 
good  an  account ;  nor  shall  all  the  powers  upon  earth  be 
able  to  divert  us  from  reverencing  and  adoring  our  God, 
who  made  us."  One  of  the  sheriffs  told  him  he  was  not 
there  for  worshipping  God,  but  for  breaking  the  law ; 
though  they  had  made  the  act  of  worshipping  according 
to  conscience,  a  breach  of  the  law.  William  Penn  denied 
having  broken  any  law,  or  of  being  guilty  of  the  indict- 
ment, and  demanded  to  be  informed  by  what  law  he  was 
prosecuted,  that  the  jury  might  understand  on  what  ground 
they  were  asked  to  give  a  verdict.  The  recorder  answered, 
*'  upon  the  common  law ; "  to  which  William  Penn  desired 
that  the  law  might  be  produced  ;  which  was  declined  ;  and 
he  still  persisting  in  demanding  it,  as  otherwise  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  jury  to  determine  their  verdict 
clearly,  the  recorder  suffered  his  passion  to  carry  him  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  decency,  and  freely  lavished  on  Wil- 
liam Penn,  the  epithets  of  a  "saucy,  impertinent,  trouble- 
some, and  pestilent  fellow,"  —  and  told  him  it  was  not  for 
the  honor  of  the  court  to  allow  him  to  go  on.  William 
Penn  remarked,  "  I  have  asked  but  one  question,  and  you 
have  not  answered  me ;  though  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
every  Englishman  be  concerned  in  it."  The  recorder  re- 
plied, "  If  I  should  suffer  you  to  ask  questions  till  to-mor- 
row morning,  you  would  be  never  the  wiser;"  to  which 
William  Penn  promptly  rejoined,  "  That  is  according  as 
the  answers  are."  The  recorder  said :  "  Sir,  we  must  not 
stand  to  hear  you  talk  all  night."  William  Penn  then  ob- 
served :  "  I  design  no  affront  to  the  court ;  but  to  be  heard 
in  my  just  plea ;  and  I  must  plainly  tell  you,  that  if  you 
will  deny  me  the  ^  oyer'  [hearing]  of  that  law  which  you 
suggest  I  have  broken,  you  do  at  once  deny  me  an  acknowl- 
edged right,  and  evidence  to  the  whole  world  your  resolu- 


238 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1670. 


tion  to  sacrifice  the  privileges  of  Englishmen  to  your  sinister 
and  arbitrary  designs."  And  going  on  in  earnest  expostu- 
lation with  the  court  on  the  arbitrary  nature  of  their  pro- 
ceedings, and  showing  how  the  dearest  social  rights  of  man, 
guaranteed  to  Englishmen  by  their  ancient  fundamental 
laws,  were  thus  invaded,  he  was  rudely  ordered  to  "  be 
silent,  there  !  "  and  sent  into  the  bail-dock.  William  Mead 
followed  his  companion  in  pleading  for  their  privilege  to 
be  informed  of  the  law  under  which  they  were  indicted, 
and  told  the  jury  he  stood  there  to  answer  an  indictment 
which  was  full  of  lies  and  falsehoods,  for  therein  he  was 
accused  of  meeting  with  force  and  arms,  unlawfully  and 
tumultuously ;  and  boldly  claiming  his  rights  as  an  English- 
man, he  was  told  by  the  Lord  Mayor  that  he  deserved  to 
have  his  tongue  cut  out,  and  he  was  also  taken  aside  into 
the  bail-dock. 

The  recorder  then  proceeded  to  charge  the  jury,  urging 
them,  at  their  peril,  to  attend  to  the  evidence  that  had  been 
produced  against  the  prisoners.  But  William  Penn,  who 
from  a  distance  heard  what  was  going  on  in  the  court, 
raised  himself  up  by  the  rails  of  the  bail-dock,  and  with 
a  loud  voice  thus  remonstrated  against  this  unjust  proceed- 
ing: "I  appeal  to  the  jury,  who  are  my  judges,  and  this 
great  assembly,  whether  the  proceedings  of  the  court  are 
not  most  arbitrary,  and  void  of  all  law,  in  offering  to  give 
the  jury  their  charge  in  the  absence  of  the  prisoners.  I 
say,  it  is  directly  opposite  to,  and  destructive  of  the  un- 
doubted right  of  every  English  prisoner ; "  referring  to 
Coke  on  Magna  Charta.  He  added  that  the  jury  could  not 
legally  leave  the  court  before  he  had  been  fully  heard,  and 
that  he  had  at  least  ten  or  twelve  material  points  to  offer, 
in  order  to  invalidate  the  indictment.  But  the  recorder 
cried  out,  "  Pull  that  fellow  down — pull  him  down  !  Take 
them  away  into  the  hole ; "  and  they  were  accordingly 
thrust  into  a  noisome  hole,  and  detained  there,  while  the 
jury  went  up  to  agree  on  their  verdict. 


1670.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


239 


After  staying  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  eight  of  them 
came  down  agreed ;  but  four  being  dissatisfied,  remained 
above.  The  bench  was  highly  provoked  that  these  jury- 
men should  obstruct  their  designs ;  and  using  many  threats 
against  them,  very  unbecoming  the  seat  of  justice,  sent 
them  back  to  consider  their  verdict.  After  some  time, 
returning  to  the  court,  they  rendered  a  verdict  against 
William  Penn,  of  "  guilty  of  speaking  in  Grace-church 
street,"  and  declared  William  Mead  "  not  guilty."  This 
the  court  refused  to  accept,  and  insidiously  endeavored  to 
extort  expressions  from  some  of  the  jurymen,  to  procure  a 
verdict  more  to  their  purpose ;  as  "  that  William  Penn  was 
speaking  to  an  unlawful  assembly : "  but  several  of  them 
firmly  refused  to  admit  any  alteration  in  the  verdict  to 
which  they  had  agreed.  The  court  thereupon  repeated 
their  abusive  language  towards  them,  and  sent  them  away 
again  to  bring  in  a  verdict  more  to  their  mind.  On  their 
return,  they  produced  a  verdict  in  writing,  to  the  same 
effect  as  before,  signed  by  the  whole  jury  ;  at  w^hich  the 
Lord  Mayor  and  recorder  fell  into  a  great  rage,  and  the 
latter  swore  that  they  would  have  a  verdict,  or  the  jury 
should  starve  for  it ;  telling  them  they  should  be  locked 
up,  without  meat,  drink,  fire,  or  tobacco. 

This  drew  the  folloAving  remonstrance  from  William 
Penn  :  "  My  jury,  who  are  my  judges,  ought  not  to  be  thus 
menaced.    Their  verdict  should  be  free,  and  not  compelled. 

j  The  bench  ought  to  wait  upon  them,  but  not  forestall  them. 

^  I  do  desire  that  justice  may  be  done  me,  and  that  the  arbi- 
trary resolves  of  the  bench  may  not  be  made  the  measure 
of  my  jury's  verdict." 

"Stop  that  prating  fellow's  mouth,"  cried  the  recorder, 
"  or  put  him  out  of  the  court,"  And  the  lord  mayor  telling 
the  jury  "that  William  Penn  had  gathered  a  company  of 
tumultuous  people,"  William  Penn  replied,  "  It  is  a  mis- 
take ;  we  did  not  make  the  tumult,  but  they  that  inter- 


240 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1670. 


rupted  us ;  the  jury  cannot  be  so  ignorant  as  to  think  we 
met  with  a  design  to  disturb  the  civil  peace.  We  were 
with  force  of  arms  kept  out  of  our  lawful  house,  and  met 
as  near  it  in  the  street  as  the  soldiers  would  give  us  leave. 
It  is  no  new  thing,  nor  with  the  circumstances  expressed  in 
the  indictment ;  but  what  was  usual  with  us.  It  is  very 
well  known  that  we  are  a  peaceable  people,  and  cannot 
offer  violence  to  any  man."  He  then  insisted  that  the 
agreement  of  twelve  men  is  a  verdict ;  requiring  the  clerk 
to  record  it;  and  addressing  himself  to  the  jury,  said, 
"  You  are  Englishmen  —  mind  your  privileges  —  give  not 
away  your  right."  To  which  some  of  them  replied,  "  Nor 
will  we  ever  do  it." 

The  prisoners  were  now  remanded  to  prison,  and  the 
jury  shut  up  all  night  in  their  room  without  fire,  food,  or 
any  accommodations. 

The  next  morning,  which  was  the  First-day  of  the  week, 
the  court  resumed  its  sitting,  and  the  jury  being  called, 
declared  they  could  give  no  other  verdict  than  that  which 
they  had  already  agreed  on  ;  which  answer  occasioned  the 
magistrates  again  to  burst  forth  with  rage  and  disappoint- 
ment, and  endeavors  to  browbeat  and  intimidate  them  into 
a  compliance  with  their  wishes.  William  Penn  inquired 
whether  the  jury's  finding  William  Mead  "not  guilty"  was 
not  a  verdict  ?    But  the  recorder  would  not  admit  it. 

Again  were  the  jury  remanded  to  their  room,  and  again 
they  returned  with  the  same  verdict  as  before ;  on  which 
the  lord  mayor,  transported  with  anger,  and  referring  to 
one  of  the  jurors  whom  the  recorder  had  singled  out  as  the 
most  obnoxious,  exclaimed,  "  Have  you  no  more  wit,  than 
to  be  led  by  such  a  pitiful  fellow  ?  I  will  cut  his  nose !  " 
And  William  Penn  protesting  against  his  jury  being  thus 
illegally  threatened,  the  recorder  said  to  the  mayor,  '*  My 
lord,  you  must  take  a  course  with  that  same  fellow ; "  at 
which  the  lord  mayor  cried  out,  "Stop  his  mouth!  Jailer, 


1670.] 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS. 


241 


bring  fetters,  and  stake  him  to  the  ground. — "  Do  your 
pleasure,"  calmly  observed  William  Penu  ;  I  matter  not 
your  fetters." 

The  jury,  after  considerable  discussion,  were  once  more 
shut  up  for  the  night ;  and  the  next  morning  being  called  upon 
for  their  verdict,  unanimously  brought  both  the  prisoners 
in  not  guilty,''  to  the  disappointment  and  chagrin  of  the 
bench,  but  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  large  assembly 
of  the  people  who  had  witnessed  these  arbitrary  proceed- 
ings. The  recorder  immediately  fined  each  of  the  jurors 
forty  marks,  with  imprisonment  till  paid,  for  venturing  to 
bring  in  a  verdict  so  contrary  to  the  views  of  the  court ; 
and  maliciously  detained  the  prisoners  for  the  fine,  for 
coming  into  the  court  at  first  with  their  hats  on,  though  he  ^ 
was  reminded  that  the  great  charter  of  English  liberties 
declared  that  no  free  man  should  be  amerced  but  by  the 
oath  of  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  vicinage ; "  whereas 
they  had  not  had  even  the  form  of  an  examination  on  this 
matter.  The  jury  remained  some  time  in  prison,  and  w^ere 
at  length  released  by  a  lucid  decision  of  Judge  Vaughan, 
having  by  writ  of  habeas  corpus  procured  the  hearing  of 
their  case  in  the  court  of  Common  Pleas.  And  thus. ended 
this  famous  trial,  which,  from  the  firm  stand  taken  by  the 
prisoners  and  the  jury,  and  two  full  statements  of  it  ap- 
pearing soon  after  in  print,  aroused  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  England  to  the  arbitrary  and  oppressive  proceed- 
ings of  the  courts,  by  which  the  benefits  of  the  trial  by  jury 
were  sought  to  be  invaded,  and  the  most  flagrant  violations 
of  justice  were  practised  with  impunity. 

William  Penn's  father,  who  had  become  reconciled  to 
his  son's  change,  now  feeling  himself  drawing  near  to  the 
close  of  life,  was  very  desirous  of  the  company  of  his  son 
in  his  last  hours ;  and  contrary  to  William's  express  desire, 
sent  to  the  prison,  and  paid  the  fine  for  which  he  was  de- 
tained.   He  lived  only  eleven  days  after  the  termination 


242  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1670. 


of  the  trial ;  and  before  his  close,  addressed  his  son  in  the 
folloAving  memorable  language. 

"Son  William,  if  you  and  your  friends  keep  to  your 
plain  way  of  preaching,  and  keep  to  your  plain  way  of 
living,  you  Avill  make  an  end  of  the  priests,  to  the  end  of 
the  world.  Let  nothing  in  the  world  tempt  you  to  WTong 
your  conscience ;  I  charge  you,  do  nothing  against  *yonr 
conscience ;  so  you  will  keep  peace  at  home,  which  will  be 
a  feast  to  you  in  the  day  of  trouble ; "  —  a  remarkable 
testimony  from  one  who  had  formerly  stoutly  opposed  the 
very  course,  which  he  now,  at  the  verge  of  the  grave,  so 
solemnly  recommended. 

The  violence  of  those  who  were  bent  on  exterminating 
the  Society  of  Friends  showed  itself  this  year,  among 
many  other  shameful  acts,  in  the  destruction  of  two  meet- 
ing-houses of  that  people  in  the  suburbs  of  London.  And 
what  made  the  deed  still  more  to  be  regretted,  was  that  it 
was  sanctioned  by  the  king  and  privy-council. 

The  meeting-house  at  Horslydown  in  Southwark  was 
first  attacked.  A  party  of  soldiers  had  twice  broken  in 
upon  the  peaceful  assembly,  met  there  to  wait  upon  their 
Maker ;  and  having  forced  those  present  out  of  the  house, 
had  endeavored  to  disperse  them  by  riding  among  them, 
and  had  wounded  several.  But  on  the  20th  of  the  month 
called  August,  a  party  of  soldiers  with  carpenters  and 
others,  came  and  pulled  the  house  down,  carried  away  the 
benches,  windows,  and  boards,  and  sold  them.  The  next 
day  being  First-day,  the  Friends  came  as  usual  to  meeting, 
but  had  to  meet  on  the  rubbish  of  their  demolished  house. 
The  soldiers  denied  them  even  this  privilege,  and  dragged 
them  into  the  street ;  and  the  captain  ordering  his  men  to 
knock  their  brains  out,  they  pulled  and  dragged  them  from 
the  pla(;e,  and  lodged  them  in  prison  without  warrant  from 
any  civil  magistrate.  For  nearly  three  months,  did  the 
soldiers  continue  to  persecute  the  Friends  who  attended 


1670.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKIEXDS. 


243 


this  meeting;  beating  men  and  women  in  an  outrageous 
manner  with  their  muskets  and  pikes,  and  endeavoring 
by  provoking  their  horses,  to  ride  furiously  over  them. 
Friends  keeping  faithfully  to  their  meeting,  exasperated 
them  still  more.  One  of  them  provided  himself  with  ca 
shovel,  and  threw  the  dirt  from  the  gutters  shamefully 
over  men  and  women  promiscuously.  After  him  advanced 
both  horse  and  foot  soldiers  in  a  furious  onset,  dealing  about 
their  blows,  and  knocking  down  all  before  them  without 
regard  to  sex  or  age,  to  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  many. 
On  various  occasions,  twenty,  thirty,  and  fifty  individuals 
were  sorely  wounded  at  one  time.  But  at  length  the  civil 
authorities  were  aroused  to  the  enormity  of  these  flagrant 
breaches  of  the  peace,  and  put  a  tardy  stop  to  them. 

The  proceedings  at  Ratcliff  meeting-house  were  of  a 
similar  character,  though  not  attended  with  so  much  per- 
sonal outrage.  A  few  days  after  the  destruction  of  the 
Horslydown  meeting-house,  the  lieutenant  of  the  Tower 
came  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  and  caused  the  building  to 
be  demolished.  Twelve  cart-loads  of  doors,  windows,  and 
floors,  with  other  materials,  were  carried  away  ;  and  some 
of  the  materials  were  sold  on  the  spot  for  money  and  strong 
drink.  Friends  here  also  continued  to  meet  on  the  ruins 
of  their  meeting-house,  or  as  near  thereto  as  the  constables 
and  other  oflicers  present  would  permit ;  but  many  of  them 
were  seized,  fined,  and  committed  to  prison. 


244 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1675 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  SEPARATION  OF  WILKINSON  AND  STORY  ;    AND  THE 
HERESY  OF  JEFFERY  BULLOCK. 

THE  Spirit  of  Truth  by  which  our  Friends  professed  tc 
be  guided,  was  abundantly  able  to  preserve  the  sincere 
and  obedient  and  persevering  followers  thereof  from  all  the 
wiles  of  the  enemy.  But  when  any  slackened  in  watchful- 
ness, and  gave  no  longer  unremitting  heed  to  its  monitions, 
it  was  no  marvel  that  they  were  suffered  to  become  en- 
tangled in  the  mazes  of  error.  They  had  practically  aban- 
doned the  ground  of  their  profession,  though  they  might 
still  pertinaciously  adhere  to  it  in  words ;  and  having  there- 
fore only  themselves  to  blame  for  the  bitter  fruits  of  theii 
unfaithfulness,  the  integrity  of  the  principles  remained 
unshaken,  and  the  Society  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  its  way 
About  the  year  1675,  a  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  crept  int( 
the  minds  of  some  members  in  the  north  of  England ;  whc 
giving  themselves  up  to  a  headstrong  spirit  of  party,  op- 
posed the  wholesome  discipline  which  had  been  established 
by  the  body,  and  particularly  the  institution  of  women'? 
meetings.  John  Wilkinson  and  John  Story  were  at  the 
head  of  this  disaffected  party^  and  by  plausible  insinuatiom 
engaged  in  their  favor  a  considerable  number  of  persons  of 
weak  minds  and  strong  wills,  who  from  one  cause  oi 
another  had  imbibed  disgust  and  unsettlement.  They  in- 
veighed severely  against  George  Fox,  who  had  been  a  prom- 
inent instrument  in  establishing  the  discipline,  and  they 
endeavored  to  introduce  the  fallacious  doctrine,  that  inas- 
much as  the  Divine  Spirit  was  given  to  every  man  to  guide 
him  aright,  any  attempt  by  rules  and  laws  to  introduce 


1675.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


245 


order  into  tlie  Society,  was  a  departure  from  that  principle, 
and  an  imposition  on  their  gospel  liberty.  Wilkinson  and 
Story  had  been  in  the  station  of  ministers :  but  beginning 
to  thirst  after  pre-eminence,  and  to  look  for  greater  defer- 
ence from  their  fellow-members  than  the  most  sensible  of 
their  brethren  thought  it  right  to  -pay  them,  they  became 
restive  under  the  admonitions  and  warnings  which  these 
believed  themselves  called  upon  to  extend,  in  gospel  solici- 
tude for  their  welfare,  and  for  the  integrity  of  the  church. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  of  Westmoreland,  to  which  they 
belonged,  observing  with  pain  the  dangerous  tendency  of 
their  proceedings,  used  Christian  efforts  to  reclaim  them, 
but  without  success ;  and  in  order  to  prevent,  if  possible, 
an  open  breach,  concluded  to  refer  the  case  to  the  judg- 
ment of  impartial  and  disinterested  Friends  of  the  neigh- 
boring counties.  Accordingly  six  of  the  most  judicious 
and  eminent  Friends  of  Cumberland,  and  several  from 
Yorkshire,  went  over  to  a  meeting  appointed  by  West- 
moreland Quarterly  Meeting,  on  purpose  to  hear  and  de- 
termine the  matter  of  difference.  But  the  disaffected  per- 
sons refused  to  give  their  attendance.  The  committee  being 
desirous,  if  possible,  to  giv^e  them  a  fair  and  full  hearing, 
appointed  another  day,  and  themselves  personally  waited  on 
the  heads  of  the  secession,  to  request  their  attendance.  But 
their  message  and  advice  were  treated  with  slight  and  con- 
tempt ;  and  seeing  that  these  men  were  not  by  any  means 
to  be  induced  to  a  reconciliation,  they  drew  up  a  testimony 
against  them,  and  left  it  with  Friends  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  of  Westmoreland. 

Still  another  attempt  was  made  the  next  year,  to  reclaim 
and  recover  those  who  had  thus  gone  out  of  the  way.  A 
meeting  was  appointed  at  Drawell,  near  Sedburgh,  on  the 
borders  of  Yorkshire  and  AYestmoreland,  at  which  they 
were  again  offered  a  fair  opportunity  of  being  heard  upon 
the  subjects  of  their  discontent.  On  this  occasion,  they 
21  * 


246  HTSTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1675. 


condescended  to  attend,  and  were  fully  heard  by  the 
Friends  formerly  appointed,  and  by  many  other  aged  and 
experienced  Friends  from  other  parts,  who  spent  four  days 
in  the  investigation.  But  as  it  plainly  appeared  that  the 
defection  proceeded  from  a  spirit  of  contention  and  oppo- 
sition to  all  regularity  and  good  order  in  the  church,  they 
were  affectionately  entreated  to  return  to  the  unity  of  the 
body.  Obstinately  persisting,  however,  in  their  opposition, 
they  were  testified  against  by  this  meeting  also ;  and  soon 
afterwards  detached  themselves  entirely  from  the  Society, 
and  set  up  a  separate  meeting. 

John  Story  travelled  over  the  country,  endeavoring  to 
propagate  the  dissent  in  various  parts  of  the  nation,  and 
gained  some  adherents  in  the  western  counties,  particularly 
at  Bristol. 

This  defection  drew  forth  from  William  Penn  a  small 
treatise  on  Church  Discipline,  designed  to  inform  the  judg- 
ments of  the  discontented ;  and  Robert  Barclay  also  came 
forth  with  his  well  known  work  entitled  "  The  Anarchy  of 
the  Ranters,"  &c.,  in  which,  with  his  usual  clearness  and 
strength  of  reasoning,  he  vindicated  the  discipline  estab- 
lished among  Friends,  against  those  who  accused  them  of 
confusion  and  disorder  on  the  one  hand,  or  of  tyranny  and 
imposition  on  the  other.  These  books  elicited  contentious 
replies  from  William  Rogers,  one  of  the  prominent  se- 
ceders ;  which,  however,  being  more  remarkable  for  pas- 
sionate intemperance  of  language  than  soundness  of  reason- 
ing, and  abounding  in  personal  invectives  against  many  of 
the  most  eminent  members  of  the  Society,  particularly 
George  Fox,  soon  ran  their  ephemeral  course  and  sunk 
into  oblivion. 

William  Rogers  becoming  puffed  up  by  the  applause  of 
his  party,  went  to  London  at  the  time  of  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, and  challenged  Friends  to  an  open  dispute.  He  was 
met  accordingly,  and  was  so  completely  foiled  in  all  his 


1675.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


247 


sophistry,  and  his  errors  and  petulancy  were  so  fully  ex- 
posed, that  framing  a  frivolous  excuse,  he  left  the  meeting, 
and  departed  abruptly  from  the  city,  refusing  a  second 
opportunity  for  further  discussion. 

Thomas  Ellwood  and  George  Whitehead  were  also  en- 
gaged in  this  controversy,  both  replying  to  William  Rogers's 
books,  and  defending  the  principles  and  practices  of  the 
Society.  The  compact  by  which  these  separatists  were 
bound  together,  was  found  too  slight  to  maintain  their 
union,  and  was  soon  dissolved.  The  more  sincere  among 
them  coming  in  time  to  perceive  the  groundless  nature  of 
their  separation,  were  united  once  more  to  the  body,  and 
the  rest  fell  to  pieces  and  dwindled  away ;  leaving  only,  as 
their  memorial,  a  solemn  warning  on  the  page  of  history, 
of  the  unsubstantial  nature  of  all  attempts,  made  in  the 
spirit  of  party  and  of  self-aggrandizement,  to  divide  and 
scatter  the  church  of  Christ. 

About  the  same  time  that  this  defection  of  Wilkinson 
and  Story  broke  out  in  the  north  of  England,  a  spirit  of 
unsoundness  showed  itself  in  the  east ;  which,  though  con- 
fined in  its  sorrowful  effects  to  one  individual,  became  im- 
portant as  a  matter  of  history,  inasmuch  as  it  once  more 
drew  forth  the  testimony  of  the  faithful  members  of  the 
body,  to  their  belief  in  the  divinity  and  atonement  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  a  fundamental  and  integral  part  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  A  certain  Jeflery 
Bullock,  of  Sudbury,  elated  by  a  fond  conceit  of  his  own 
attainments,  and  mistaking  the  vagaries  of  a  deluded  im- 
agination for  the  pure  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
adopted  and  promulgated  the  false  and  anti-christian  notion, 
that  the  gift  of  divine  grace  in  the  soul  superseded  the 
necessity,  and  cancelled  the  benefits,  of  the  coming  and 
sufferings  in  the  flesh,  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour, 
Jcsus  Christ. 

Being  rebuked  for  this  and  other  errors,  lie  assumed  iin 


248 


7TTST0RTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1675. 


air  of  great  importance,  and  inveighed  with  much  acrimony 
against  the  faithful  elders,  whose  concern  it  was  to  admin- 
ister counsel  and  reproof,  in  order  to  reclaim  him  from  the 
gross  delusions  into  which  his  self-confidence  had  betrayed 
him ;  and  he  denounced  the  good  order  and  government  of 
the  church,  as  tyranny,  oppression,  and  usurpation  of  power ; 
declaring  that  every  one  should  be  left  to  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  in  himself,  with  no  control  of  outward  rules. 
Becoming,  notwithstanding  the  brotherly  admonitions  of 
his  friends,  still  more  refractory  and  overbearing,  and 
going  on  to  propagate  his  unsound  opinions,  he  Avas,  about 
the  year  1675,  disowned  by  Friends,  who  issued  several 
clear  and  cogent  testimonies  against  his  anti-christian 
errors. 

Irritated  by  this  disownment,  he  made  use  of  the  press, 
and  published  a  book  against  the  kSociety,  upbraiding  its 
members  with  much  bitterness.  Giles  Barnardiston  and 
Isaac  Penington  stepped  forward  in  defence  of  the  truth, 
replying  to  his  charges  and  false  assertions ;  vindicating 
the  faith  of  the  Society  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the 
Son  of  God,  and  the  only  Justifier  and  Saviour  of  the  re- 
penting sinner  ;  and  showing  that  as  those  are  to  be  blamed 
who  despise  the  doctrine  of  the  Light  within,  relying  on  the 
death  and  sufferings  of  Christ,  without  coming  to  an  expe- 
rience of  his  cleansing  and  sanctifying  operations  in  the 
soul,  so  those,  on  the  other  hand,  who,  pretending  to  exalt 
this  Light,  despised  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord  in 
sending  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  into  the  world,  to  lay  down 
his  precious  life  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  man,  cannot  be 
owned  as  maintaining  sound  doctrine ;  for  that  such  as 
speak  and  act  under  the  promptings  of  that  divine  Light, 
can  never  disregard  or  deny  the  efiicacy  of  what  the  Son 
of  God  did  and  suflfered  in  the  prepared  body. 

This  unhappy  man  was  afterwards  mercifully  enabled  to 
see  the  delusion  into  which  he  had  fallen :  and  in  1686,  he 


1677.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  249 

gave  forth  a  paper  of  condemnation,  not  only  of  his  gross 
doctrinal  errors,  but  of  his  supercilious  and  injurious  treat- 
ment of  Friends,  and  animadversions  against  the  wholesome 
order  and  government  of  the  Society. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

WILLIAM  PENX'S  TRAVELS  IN  HOLLAND  AND  GERMANY. 

IN  the  year  1677,  William  Penn  found  it  laid  upon  him 
to  visit  Holland  and  Germany,  in  the  service  of  the 
Gospel.  He  had  been  before  on  the  continent,  about  1671 ; 
but  no  account  of  that  journey  is  now  to  be  found. 

Sailing  from  Harwich  on  the  26th  of  the  Fifth  month, 
in  company  with  George  Fox,  Robert  Barclay,  George 
Keith,  and  several  other  Friends,  he  landed  on  the  28th  at 
the  Briel  in  Holland,  and  soon  proceeded  to  Rotterdam, 
where  many  Friends  of  that  city  immediately  came  to  see 
them.  They  held  two  meetings  there,  and  visited  Friends 
in  their  families,  and  William  Penn  then  proceeded  with 
George  Fox  to  Leyden,  Haarlem  and  Amsterdam  ;  at  which 
place  was  then  held  the  first  general  meeting  of  Friends 
for  Holland,  embracing  also  those  in  the  Palatinate,  Ham- 
burg, Lubeck,  Frederickstadt,  &c.  This  meeting  agreed 
upon  several  salutary  minutes,  to  be  sent  forth  among  the 
members  for  their  edification,  and  for  the  better  conducting 
of  the  afi^airs  of  the  church,  which  document  may  be  con- 
sidered as  in  some  degree  embodying  their  code  of  disci- 
pline.   The  first  item  ran  thus : 

"  Be  it  known  to  all  men,  that  the  power  of  God,  the 
Gospel,  is  the  authority  of  all  our  men's  and  women's  meet- 
ings ;  and  every  heir  of  that  power  is  an  heir  of  that  au- 


250 


HTSTOmCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1677. 


thority,  and  so  becometh  a  living  member  of  right,  of 
either  of  those  meetings,  and  of  the  heavenly  fellowship 
and  order  in  which  they  stand :  which  is  not  of  man,  nor 
by  man." 

The  practice  to  be  observed  in  laboring  with  offenders 
for  their  restoration  is  thus  described : 

"  Though  the  doctrine  of  Christ  J esus  requireth  his  people 
to  admonish  a  brother  or  sister  twice,  before  they  tell  the 
church  ;  yet  that  limiteth  none,  so  as  they  shall  use  no 
longer  forbearance,  before  they  tell  the  church ;  —  and  it  is 
desired  of  all,  that  before  they  publicly  complain,  they  wait 
in  the  power  of  God,  to  feel  if  there  is  no  more  required  of 
them  to  their  brother  or  sister."  "And  further,  when  the 
church  is  told,  and  the  party  admonished  by  the  church 
again  and  again,  and  he  or  she  remain  still  insensible  and 
unreconciled ;  let  not  final  judgment  go  forth  against  him 
or  her,  till  every  one  of  the  meeting  hath  cleared  his  or 
her  conscience,  that  if  any  thing  be  upon  any,  further  to 
visit  such  a  transgressor,  they  may  clear  themselves,  if  pos- 
sibly the  party  may  be  reached  and  saved.  And  after  all 
are  clear  of  the  blood  of  such  an  one,  let  the  judgment  of 
Friends  in  the  power  of  God  go  forth  against  him  or  her, 
as  moved  for  the  Lord's  honor  and  glory  sake:  that  no  re- 
proach may  come  or  rest  upon  God's  holy  name,  truth,  and 
people," 

Amongst  other  things  which  then  engaged  their  atten- 
tion, was  the  subject  of  marriage;  which  they  declare,  "as 
the  universal  and  unanimous  sense  of  Friends,"  to  be  "the 
work  of  the  Lord  only,  and  not  of  priest  or  magistrate ; 
for  it  is  God's  ordinance  and  not  man's." 

They  also  directed  that  committees  of  Friends  should  be 
appointed  to  judge  of  such  writings  as  were  designed  to  be 
published,  and  that  "no  book  may  be  published  but  in  the 
unity." 

William  Penn  bears  testimony  that  at  this  meeting  "the 


1677.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


251 


sound  of  the  everlasting  gospel  went  forth,  and  the  Lord's 
fear,  and  life,  and  power  was  over  all." 

Here  William  Penn  addressed  a  letter  to  the  king  of  Po- 
land, in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  his  fellow-believers  of 
Dantzick,  who  had  for  some  time  been  great  sufferers  for 
conscience'  sake,  some  banished  from  their  homes,  and  others 
closely  imprisoned,  for  meeting  together  for  the  worship  of 
their  Divine  Master.  This  cogent  appeal,  however,  did  not 
prevail  to  stop  the  persecution ;  which  continued  for  some 
years,  so  that  those  poor  people  were  subjected  to  much 
cruelty,  being  confined  in  the  house  of  correction,  chained 
together  by  their  hands,  fed  only  with  bread  and  water, 
and  forced  to  lie  upon  straw  through  the  severe  winter. 

Hence  William  Penn,  Benjamin  Furly,  George  Keith  and 
Kobert  Barclay,  went  to  Osnaburg,  and  then  to  Herwerden, 
to  visit  the  Princess  Elizabeth  Palatine  of  the  Rhine,  grand- 
daughter of  King  James  I.,  and  sister  of  the  famous  Prince 
Rupert.  She  and  the  Countess  De  Homes,  who  lived  with 
her,  had  for  some  time  been  acquainted  with  Robert  Barclay 
and  other  Friends,  and  were  seeking  after  best  things,  and 
lovers  of  those  who  separate  themselves  from  the  world  for 
righteousness'  sake.  This  Princess  came  measurably  to 
appreciate  the  truth  of  the  principles  held  by  Friends,  and 
not  only  maintained  an  afiectionate  correspondence  for 
several  years  with  Robert  Barclay  and  William  Penn,  but 
made  her  house  an  asylum  and  a  meeting-place  for  Friends 
on  various  occasions.  These  were  now  very  cordially 
received,  and  held  several  meetings  in  her  house,  one  of 
which,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Countess  De  Homes,  was 
Avith  the  domestics  of  the  establishment,  to  the  great  satis- 
faction of  the  princess :  another  was  a  public  meeting  for 
the  family  and  the  towns-people,  "which  began,"  says 
William  Penn,  "  with  a  weighty  exercise  and  travail  in 
prayer,  that  the  Lord  would  glorify  his  own  name  that  day. 
And  by  his  own  power  he  made  way  to  their  consciences, 


252 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1677. 


and  sounded  his  awakening  trumpet  in  their  ears,  that  they 
might  know  that  He  was  God,  and  that  there  is  none  like 
unto  Him.  Oh  !  the  day  of  the  Lord  livingly  dawned  upon 
us,  and  the  searching  life  of  Jesus  was  in  the  midst  of  us. 
The  Word,  that  never  faileth  them  that  wait  for  it,  and  abide 
in  it,  opened  the  way  and  unsealed  the  book  of  life :  yea  the 
quickening  power  and  life  of  Jesus  wrought  and  reached  to 
them  ;  and  virtue  from  him  in  whom  dwelleth  the  Godhead 
bodily,  went  forth,  and  blessedly  distilled  upon  us  his 
heavenly  life."  "As  soon  as  the  meeting  was  done,"  he 
adds,  "  the  princess  came  to  me,  and  took  me  by  the  hand, 
to  speak  to  me  of  the  sense  she  had  of  that  power  and 
presence  of  God,  which  was  amongst  us ;  but  was  stopped — 
and  turning  herself  to  the  window,  she  broke  forth  in  an 
extraordinary  [emotion,]  crying  out,  '  I  cannot  speak  to 
you  —  my  heart  is  full,'  —  clapping  her  hands  upon  her 
breast." 

In  taking  a  solemn  leave  of  these  interesting  persons,  the 
Friends  recommended  to  them  a  "  holy  silence  from  all  will- 
worship,  and  the  workings,  strivings,  and  images  of  their 
own  mind  and  spirit ;  that  Jesus  might  be  felt  by  them  in 
their  hearts,  and  his  holy  teachings  witnessed  and  followed 
in  the  way  of  his  blessed  cross,  which  would  crucify  them 
unto  the  w^orld,  and  the  world  unto  them  ;  that  their  faith, 
hope,  and  joy  might  stand  in  Christ  in  them,  the  heavenly 
Prophet,  Shepherd,  and  Bishop." 

Leaving  Herwerden,  they  passed  through  Paderborn, 
Cassel  and  Frankfort ;  except  Eobert  Barclay,  who  prepared 
to  return  to  Amsterdam.  Soon  after  they  arrived  at  Kris- 
heim,  where  they  found  a  meeting  of  tender  and  faithful 
people ;  and  notwithstanding  Friends  there  were  desired  by 
the  chief  officer  of  the  place,  through  fear  of  the  leading 
Calvinists,  not  to  suffer  any  preaching  amongst  them,  yet 
they  had  a  comfortable  meeting.  At  Manheim,  William 
Penn  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Prince  Elector  Palatine  of 


1677.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


253 


Heidelberg,  encouraging  him  in  the  Christian  virtue  of 
charity  towards  those  who  conscientiously  dissented  from  the 
established  form  of  religion :  they  then  went  by  the  Rhine  to 
Worms,  and  thence  on  foot  to  Krisheim  again,  where  they  had 
a  good  meeting,  and  the  Lord's  power  was  sweetly  felt  by 
many.  This  meeting  had  been  chiefly  gathered  by  William 
Ames  and  George  Rofe,  about  twenty  years  previously. 

Passing  through  Mentz  and  Cologne,  and  not  being  per- 
mitted to  enter  the  town  of  Mulheim,  they  came  to  the  walls 
of  Duysburg,  at  night ;  but  the  gates  being  shut,  and  no 
houses  outside  the  walls,  they  lay  down  together  in  a  field 
until  near  the  dawn  of  day,  soon  after  which,  the  gates  being 
opened,  they  entered  the  city.  Here  William  Penn  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  Countess  of  Falkenstein  and  Bruck,  of  whom 
he  had  some  knowledge  as  a  person  of  much  religious  feeling, 
who  saw  the  vanity  of  this  world,  and  in  some  degree  the 
emptiness  of  its  religions  ;  but  whom  they  had  not  been  able 
to  visit,  being  rudely  turned  away  by  her  father,  with  a 
guard  of  soldiers.  He  encouraged  her  closely  to  attend  to 
the  divine  Visitor  in  the  soul,  which  had  shown  her  the 
fading  nature  of  all  earthly  glory,  and  the  joys  of  the  world 
to  come,  and  had  wrought  in  her  heart  the  change  which 
she  had  witnessed  from  the  spirit  of  the  world.  And  he 
recommended  her  to  stay  herself  upon  Christ  Jesus,  the 
everlasting  Pock,  and  feel  him  a  fountain  in  her  soul  — 
whom  God  had  given  for  the  life  of  the  world.  He  wrote 
also  at  the  same  time  to  her  father,  the  Graef  or  Earl  of 
Bruck  and  Falkenstein,  exhorting  him  to  repentance,  and 
remonstrating  with  him  on  his  illiberality  and  unchristian 
behavior,  in  turning  out  of  his  dominions  at  sunset,  innocent 
strangers  of  good  character  in  their  own  country,  and  thus 
subjecting  them  to  exposure  in  the  fields  at  night,  in  an 
unknown  country,  merely  for  being  what  the  world  called 
Quakers,  and  not  giving  him  the  usual  empty  compliment 
of  putting  off  the  hat. 


254 


TTTSTORTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1677. 


They  were  met,  the  same  day,  after  a  meeting  with  some 
serious  people,  by  a  messenger  from  the  countess,  telling 
them  of  her  grief  at  the  behavior  of  her  father,  and  advising 
them  not  to  expose  themselves  on  her  account,  to  such  diffi- 
culties ;  for  her  father  set  his  dogs  at  some  who  came  in  the 
love  of  God  to  visit  her,  and  at  others  his  soldiers,  to  beat 
them ;  adding,  however,  that  even  this  ought  not  to  hinder 
them  from  doing  good.  After  some  serious  discourse  with 
the  tender  young  man,  her  messenger,  it  being  now  afternoon, 
and  they  having  neither  eaten  nor  drank  anything  since  the 
morning  of  the  previous  day,  and  having  lain  out  in  the 
field  all  night,  they  retired  for  some  refreshment,  and  after- 
wards l^ft  the  city,  being  compelled  to  w^alk  eight  miles  to 
a  town  called  Holten,  where  they  lodged. 

Proceeding  through  Wesel  to  Cleve,  they  paid  a  visit  to  a 
certain  noblewoman  of  religious  disposition.  They  told  her, 
their  message  was  to  those  of  that  city  who  had  any  hunger 
or  thirst  after  the  true  and  living  knowledge  of  God.  She 
told  them  there  were  some  who  searched  after  God ;  but  she 
feared  that  the  name  of  Quaker  would  make  them  shy ;  for 
they  were  called  Quakers  themselves,  by  people  of  the  same 
profession,  merely  for  being  more  serious  and  retired  in  their 
conversation.  They  replied,  that  it  was  an  honor  to  the 
name,  that  all  sobriety  throughout  Germany  was  called  by 
it ;  and  that  this  ought  to  make  the  way  easier  for  those  who 
were  Quakers  indeed  —  to  all  such,  God  had  committed  to 
him  and  his  friends  the  word  of  life  to  preach,  and  such 
they  sought  out  wherever  the  Lord  brought  them.  This 
person,  as  well  as  an  attorney  whom  she  sent  for  to  meet 
them,  was  reached  by  their  testimony  to  pure  spiritual 
religion,  and  they  both  confessed  to  the  truth  of  what  was 
said.  "A  blessed  sweet  time  we  had,"  says  William  Penn  ; 
"  for  the  power  and  presence  of  the  Lord,  our  staff  and 
strength,  plenteously  appeared  amongst  us." 

Soon  after  this,  at  Utrecht,  William  Penn  parted  from 


1677.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


255 


his  companions,  and  went  to  Amsterdam,  where  he  received 
a  letter  from  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  who  longed  for  greater 
experience  of  the  baptism  of  fire  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
for  power  to  bear  the  cross  of  Christ. 

From  Amsterdam  he  joined  George  Fox  at  Harlingen, 
where  was  held  at  that  time  the  first  Monthly  Meeting  of 
Friends  for  Friesland,  Groningen,  and  Embden,  and  a  pub- 
lic meeling  also  for  the  inhabitants  generally.  There  was 
a  Presbyterian  minister  present,  who  sat  with  much  atten- 
tion and  sobriety,  but  who,  having  to  preach  that  evening, 
went  away,  while  George  Fox  was  speaking.  However,  he 
speedily  returned  and  sat  at  the  door  till  George  Fox  con- 
cluded ;  when  he  stood  up,  and  putting  off  his  hat,  with  his 
face  towards  heaven,  and  in  a  solemn  manner,  exclaimed, 
"  The  Almighty,  the  All-wise,  the  Omnipotent  great  God, 
and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  blessed  forever  and  ever, 
confirm  His  word  that  hath  been  spoken  this  day ; "  and 
apologizing  for  having  to  leave  the  meeting,  withdrew. 
Just  as  the  meeting  ended,  he  came  again,  and  said  in  the 
hearing  of  some  Friends,  that  he  had  made  his  sermon 
much  shorter  than  common,  that  he  might  enjoy  the  rest 
of  the  meeting.  From  this  place  William  Penn  Avrote  a 
letter  of  religious  counsel  to  Joanna  Eleonora  Malane,  a 
noble  young  woman  of  Frankfort,  who  had  been  sweetly 
visited  by  the  ministry  of  life,  through  himself  and  his  com- 
panions. He  soon  afterwards  paid  an  interesting  visit  to 
Anna  Maria  Schurmans,  a  noted  religious  woman  among 
the  followers  of  John  De  Labadie,  who  seeking  a  more 
spiritual  fellowship  and  society,  had  separated  themselves 
from  the  common  Calvinistic  churches,  and  w^ere  a  serious, 
plain  people,  having  approximated  towards  Friends  as  to 
silence  in  meetings,  women's  speaking,  preaching  by  the 
Spirit,  and  plainness  of  garb  and  furniture.  This  woman, 
with  some  others  of  the  same  persuasion,  resided  in  the 
family  of  the  Somerdykes,  daughters  of  a  nobleman  of  the 


256 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1677. 


Hague.  They  gave  William  Penn  a  serious  account  of  the 
work  of  the  Almighty  among  them ;  having  evidently 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  but  appearing  to  place  too 
great  reliance  on  their  beloved  John  De  Labadie.  Wil- 
liam Penn  then  addressed  them  in  an  earnest  appeal,  open- 
ing the  true  nature  of  religious  expedience,  and  exhorting 
them,  that  since  God  had  given  them  a  divine  sense  of  him- 
self, their  eye  should  be  to  him,  and  not  to  man ;  tli^t  they 
might  come  more  into  true  silence,  and  a  growth  into  that 
heavenly  sense — that  the  work  of  the  true  ministry  was 
not  to  keep  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  preacher,  but 
to  turn  them  to  God,  the  new  covenant  teacher,  and  to 
Christ,  the  great  gospel  minister  —  and  closely  recommend- 
ing to  them  not  to  be  of  those  who  begin  in  the  Spirit,  and 
end  in  the  flesh  ;  but  to  wait  in  the  light  and  the  spirit  of 
judgment  that  had  visited  them,  that  all  might  be  wrought 
out  that  was  not  born  of  God,  and  they  might  become  a 
holy  priesthood,  offering  up  a  living  sacrifice  with  God's 
heavenly  fire. 

Leaving  this  little  company,  with  much  exhortation  to 
"  know  no  man  after  the  flesh,"  but  to  have  their  fellow- 
ship in  Christ,  he  went  to  Lippenhausen  and  Groningen,  at 
both  which  places  were  meetings  of  Friends :  and  thence  to 
Embden,  where  Friends  had  suffered  most  grievous  perse- 
cutions for  some  years.  Here  he  found  it  laid  upon  him  to 
visit  the  president  of  the  council,  at  whose  instigation  these 
persecutions  had  taken  place,  who  received  him  respect- 
fully, and  gave  some  expectation  that  the  visit  would  not 
prove  in  vain. 

After  this,  at  Bremen,  he  went  to  see  two  ministers  under 
some  suffering  for  their  zeal  against  formality  in  the  re- 
formed churches  ;  and  though  one,  through  fear,  reluctantly 
declined  the  visit,  he  had  with  the  other  a  satisfactory  open 
interview  of  about  three  hours ;  testifying  "  that  the  day 
was  come,  and  coming,  in  which  the  Lord  would  gather 


1677.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIE^^DS. 


257 


out  of  all  sects  that  stand  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter,  into 
His  own  holy  Spirit,  life,  and  power ;  and  that  in  this,  the 
unity  of  faith  and  bond  of  peace  should  stand." 

He  and  Jacob  Clans,  his  companion,  visited  some  other 
serious  individuals,  and  had  in  their  inn,  frequent  oppor- 
tunity to  declare  the  way  of  Truth ;  and  leaving  books 
among  the  people,  they  took  their  leave  of  them,  and  went 
again  to  Herwerden.  Here  they  had  much  satisfaction  in 
the  company  of  those  pious  Avomen,  the  Princess  Elizabeth 
and  Countess  De  Homes,  and  held  several  meetings  in  the 
house,  which  appear  to  have  been  remarkable  opportunities 
of  divine  overshadowing,  to  the  tendering  of  the  hearts  of 
those  assembled.  Having  at  length  taken  an  affectionate 
and  solemn  leave  of  this  family,  they  travelled  by  wagon 
to  Wesel,  about  two  hundred  miles,  riding  three  nights  and 
days  without  rest ;  and  arriving  at  Amsterdam,  they  had 
on  the  tenth  of  Eighth  month,  a  "  blessed  public  meeting, 
never  to  be  forgotten."  In  this  city  they  had  a  dispute 
with  Galenus  Abrahams,  the  great  father  of  the  Socinian 
Menists  in  those  parts,  who  came  accompanied  by  several 
of  his  congregation,  and  some  of  their  preachers,  and  af- 
firmed in  opposition  to  Friends,  that  there  was  no  Christian 
church  ministry,  or  apostolical  commission  now  in  the 
world.  But  the  Lord  assisted  them  with  His  wisdom  and 
strength,  to  confound  his  attempts. 

From  Amsterdam  they  went  to  Delft  and  Rotterdam, 
where  they  had  a  large  and  favored  meeting  among 
Friends  and  others ;  thence  to  the  Hague  and  Leyden,  and 
on  the  21st  embarked  at  Briel  for  Harwich,  on  their  return 
to  England. 


258 


HTSTOKICAL   MEMOIKS  OF 


[1679. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ACCOUNT  OF  ISAAC  PENINGTON. 

IN  the  year  1679  died  Isaac  Penington,  a  man  remark- 
able for  his  sweet  Christian  spirit,  and  extraordinarily 
clear  views  of  the  mysteries  of  godliness,  and  the  true  char- 
acter of  pure  and  undefiled  religion.  He  was  born  about 
the  year  1617,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  Alderman  Pening- 
ton, who  was  twice  elected  lord  mayor  of  London,  a  noted 
member  of  the  Long  Parliament,  and  nominated,  though 
he  never  acted,  as  one  of  the  judges  for  the  trial  of  King 
Charles  the  First.  Isaac's  education  was  suited  to  his 
quality  and  expectations  in  life,  having  all  the  advantages 
which  the  schools  and  universities,  and  the  conversation  of 
some  of  the  most  considerable  men  of  the  age,  could  afford. 
His  natural  abilities  enabled  him  to  avail  himself  of  these 
advantages,  being  possessed  of  a  quick  apprehension,  an 
acute  mind,  sound  judgment,  and  good  general  understand- 
ing. His  disposition  was  remarkably  mild  and  affable,  free 
from  pride  and  affectation ;  his  common  conversation  cheer- 
ful but  guarded,  equally  divested  of  moroseness  and  levity. 
Tempering  easy  affability  with  serious  gravity,  he  was 
pleasing  in  the  manner,  and  instructive  in  the  matter  of 
his  discourse. 

His  father's  station  in  public  employments,  and  his  rank 
in  life,  opened  for  him  a  fair  prospect  of  worldly  greatness, 
if  his  views  had  been  turned  that  way ;  but  actuated  by 
higher  and  nobler  considerations,  he  was  induced  to  relin- 
quish the  short-lived  glories  of  this  world,  as  unworthy  to 
engage  the  principal  attention  of  man  born  for  immortal- 
ity ;  and  with  Moses  he  "  chose  rather  to  suffer  affliction 
with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin 
for  a  season." 


1679.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


259 


"Very  early,"  says  his  intimate  friend,  William  Penn, 
who  married  his  step-daughter  Gulielma  Maria  Springett, 
"  very  early  did  the  Lord  visit  him  with  a  more  than  ordi- 
nary manifestation  of  his  love ;  and  it  had  that  good  effect 
upon  him,  that  it  kept  him  both  from  the  evils  and  vain 
worships  of  the  world ;  and  he  became  the  wonder  of  his 
kindred  and  familiars,  for  his  awful  life  and  serious  and 
frequent  retirements,  declining  all  company  that  might  in- 
terrupt his  meditations."  He  was  frequent  in  reading  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  faithful  in  practising  what  was  thereby 
manifested  to  his  understanding,  though  in  this  he  met  with 
much  reproach  and  opposition.  But  in  reading  the  lives 
of  holy  men  of  God,  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  he  per- 
ceived in  himself  and  in  the  generality  of  professing  Chris- 
tians, a  great  falling  short  of  the  power,  experience,  and 
spiritual  attainments,  which  the  Scriptures  testified  to  have 
been  acquired  in  former  times.  So  that  the  religion  of 
that  age,  though  very  high  in  profession,  appeared  to  him 
for  the  most  part  but  a  talk,  in  comparison  with  what 
was  enjoyed,  possessed,  and  lived  in  by  the  primitive  be- 
lievers. 

Under  this  view,  he  was  led  to  separate  himself  from  the 
public  worship  he  had  usually  frequented,  and  to  join  a 
select  society  of  pious  persons  similarly  dissatisfied  with  the 
prevailing  empty  professions.  Amongst  these  he  found  a 
good  degree  of  sincerity,  and  Divine  help  was  often  near 
them.  But  still  there  was  wanting  a  greater  degree  of  inward 
watchfulness,  and  retirement  to  the  gift  of  Christ  in  the 
heart ;  and  they  fell  into  a  mistake,  and  lost  ground.  For 
whilst  they  should  have  pressed  forward  into  the  spirit  and 
power  of  godliness,  they  ran  too  much  outward  into  the  letter 
and  form ;  in  consequence  whereof  they  became  darkened  in 
their  minds,  and  confusion  and  scattering  overtook  them. 

Isaac  being  now  left  alone,  connected  with  no  visible 
society,  and  in  a  state  of  darkness  and  uncertainty,  fell  under 


260 


ITTSTORTCAL 


MEMOIRS  OF 


[1679. 


great  trouble  of  mind  for  a  long  season,  secretly  mourning 
and  praying  to  the  Lord,  night  and  day.  At  length  he  met 
with  some  of  the  writings  of  the  people  called  Quakers ;  but 
he  cast  a  slight  eye  over  them  and  threw  them  aside  with 
disdain,  as  falling  very  short  of  that  wisdom  with  which  he 
supposed  the  living  faith  which  he  was  seeking  would  be 
attended.  Some  time  afterwards,  he  had  opportunities  of 
conversing  with  some  of  them ;  and  although  (to  use  his 
own  expressions)  they  reached  the  life  of  God  in  him,  and 
that  life  answered  to  their  discourse,  and  engaged  his  affec- 
tionate regard  towards  them,  yet  he  seemed  to  himself  to 
have  such  an  advantage  over  them  in  the  power  of  reasoning, 
and  superiority  of  understanding,  that  he  viewed  them  rather 
in  a  contemptuous  light,  as  a  poor,  weak  and  despicable 
people,  who  had  some  smatterings  of  truth  in  them,  and 
some  honest  desires  towards  God,  but  who  were  very  far 
from  the  full  understanding  of  His  way  and  will. 

One  of  these  opportunities  was  at  Reading  in  1656,  where 
Alexander  Parker  met  with  him.  Alexander  thus  mentions 
the  interview :  "  Though  at  that  time  he  had  not  the  out- 
ward garb  and  appearance  of  a  Quaker,  yet  did  mine  eye 
behold  an  inward  beauty  and  hidden  virtue  of  life  in  him ; 
and  my  soul  in  the  love  of  truth,  did  cleave  unto  him,  and 
I  could  have  embraced  him  in  the  sense  thereof;  but  in 
those  early  days  we  were  cautious,  and  laid  hands  on  no 
man  suddenly."  He  did  not  hastily  join  Friends  ;  but  for 
some  time  reasoned  about  things,  without  being  able  to 
arrive  at  a  clear  view  of  the  Divine  will,  because  he  sought 
it  not  yet  in  that  low  and  humble  state,  wherein  the  still 
small  voice  was  to  be  discerned  from  the  insinuations  of  the 
adversary  of  truth. 

But  in  the  year  1658,  being  invited  to  a  meeting  of  Friends 
at  John  Crook's  in  Bedfordshire,  he  went  with  a  fixed  dis- 
position and  desire  to  receive  nothing  as  truth,  which  was 
not  of  God,  nor  withstand  anything  that  was.    George  Fox 


1679.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


261 


was  at  that  meeting ;  who  spoke  so  clearly  to  Isaac's  state, 
and  expounded  the  mystery  of  iniquity,  and  the  gospel  of 
peace  and  salvation,  with  such  energy,  that  he  gained  his 
full  assent  to  the  truth ;  and  from  that  time  forward,  Isaac 
heartily  joined  in  society  with  this  people ;  though  for  a 
season  he  endured  great  spiritual  conflict,  as  well  as  much 
opposition  and  reproach  from  his  father  and  other  relations, 
and  from  the  people  and  powers  of  the  world. 

Being  well  prepared  by  the  religious  exercises  through 
which  he  had  passed,  previous  to  his  convincement,  as  well 
as  after,  he  soon  became  an  eminently  serviceable  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends.  His  piety  w^as  manifested  in  his 
humble  and  reverent  adoration  of  the  Most  High,  and  cir- 
cumspect conversation  as  in  His  divine  presence.  His 
benevolence  and  Christian  charity  was  displayed  in  the 
diligence  with  which  he  visited  and  administered  to  the 
afflicted  in  body  or  mind ;  and  his  hospitality,  in  opening 
his  heart  and  house  for  the  reception  of  the  messengers  of 
peace,  and  for  the  religious  meetings  of  his  friends.  He  was 
a  man  of  quick  apprehension,  and  when  any  spark  arose 
from  the  coals  of  God's  altar,  it  soon  kindled  in  him  a  flame 
of  holy  zeal  for  God  and  his  truth.  Through  his  ministry 
many  were  converted  to  the  truth  he  had  received,  and 
many  more  confirmed  in  it ;  his  preaching  being  with  divine 
authority,  in  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power. 
In  all  his  declarations,  and  writings  too,  which  were  numer- 
ous and  highly  edifying  to  the  spiritual  traveller,  he  ever 
pointed  to  the  life — the  living  efiicacy — of  religion;  and 
pressed  all  to  mind  the  power  of  godliness,  and  not  to  settle 
or  content  themselves  in  the  letter  or  form.  Indeed  this  was 
the  very  bent  of  his  mind ;  and  the  strong  cries  of  his  soul 
to  the  Lord  were,  that -all  might  partake  of  this  living 
efficacy,  even  the  life  of  Jesus,  of  which  he,  through  the 
death  of  the  cross,  had  been  made  a  partaker ;  in  which  life 
he  lived  unto  God,  and  was  a  striking  pattern  of  humility, 


262 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1679. 


walking  in  uprightness  and  innocence  before  the  Lord.  He 
was  weaned  from  the  world,  and  redeemed  from  the  earth ; 
his  mind  being  exercised  in  things  of  a  higher  nature, 
drinking  daily  of  the  water  that  Christ  gives ;  which  was  in 
him  "  a  well  of  water,  springing  up  unto  eternal  life." 

His  conduct  and  conversation  were  a  seal  to  his  ministry, 
exhibiting  the  fruits  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  affording  an 
excellent  example  of  piety  and  virtue  in  every  relation  of 
life.  He  was  a  most  affectionate  husband,  a  careful  and 
tender  father,  a  mild  and  gentle  master,  a  sincere  and  faith- 
ful friend ;  compassionate  and  liberal  to  the  poor,  affable 
and  kind  to  all  with  whom  he  conversed,  ready  to  do  good 
to  all  men,  and  careful  to  injure  none. 

Having  embraced  the  truth  from  a  firm  persuasion  of  its 
inestimable  value,  he  patiently  and  meekly  submitted  to  the 
sufferings  which  were,  in  that  day,  the  lot  of  most  of  those 
who  faithfully  stood  for  the  cause.  His  first  imprisonment 
was  in  Aylesbury  jail,  in  1661  and  1662,  being  taken  from 
a  meeting  in  his  own  house,  and  confined  seventeen  weeks, 
in  winter,  in  a  cold  and  very  incommodious  room  without 
any  chimney.  From  this  severe  treatment  he  contracted  so 
violent  a  disease,  that  for  several  weeks  afterwards  he  was 
not  able  to  turn  in  his  bed. 

His  second  imprisonment  was  likewise  for  meeting  with 
his  friends  for  divine  worship,  and  was  in  the  same  jail,  and 
for  nearly  the  same  space  of  time.  His  third  also  was  in 
the  same  place,  on  the  following  occasion ;  which  affords  an 
instance  of  the  arbitrary  temper,  and  illegal  assumption  of 
power,  of  many  of  the  magistrates  of  that  period.  A  Friend 
of  Amersham  having  died,  several  Friends  and  others  of  the 
neighborhood  assembled  as  usual  to  attend  the  funeral.  It 
happened  that  one  Ambrose  Bennett,  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
accidentally  riding  through  the  town,  heard  of  this  funeral. 
He  alighted,  and  stayed  at  an  inn  until  the  company  came 
by,  carrying  the  corpse  to  the  grave  in  a  solemn  manner, 


Il  1679.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIE^^D3. 


263 


becoming  the  occasion ;  upon  which  he  rushed  out,  attended 
by  some  constables  and  rude  people,  and  with  his  drawn 
sword  struck  one  of  the  foremost  bearers  of  the  coffin,  and 
commanded  them  to  set  it  down.  But  they,  knowing  that 
he  had  no  legal  authority  for  so  arbitrary  a  proceeding,  as 
they  were  not  engaged  in  any  unlawful  act,  w  ere  not  forward 
I  to  comply  with  his  order ;  whereupon  this  justice  of  the  peace 
violently  pushed  the  coffin  off  their  shoulders  into  the  street, 
and  there  left  it  to  the  rudeness  of  all  passengers  until  even- 
ing ;  when  it  was  forcibly  taken  away  from  the  widow,  and 
buried.  The  funeral  company,  on  the  coffin  being  thrown 
down,  were  seized  or  dispersed  by  his  order,  and  ten  of  them, 
among  whom  w^as  Isaac  Penington,  were  committed  to 
Aylesbury  jail.  Here  they  were  detained  until  the  assizes, 
when  they  were  again  committed  for  one  month,  on  the  act 
of  banishment. 

Isaac  had  scarcely  enjoyed  his  liberty  again  more  than  a 
month,  when  he  was  once  more  taken  out  of  his  own  house, 
in  a  manner  still  more  arbitrary  than  before,  by  military 
force.  A  rude  soldier,  without  any  other  warrant  than  his 
weapon,  took  him  before  one  of  the  deputy  lieutenants  of 
the  county ;  who  sent  him  with  a  guard  of  soldiers  to 
Aylesbury  jail,  wdtli  a  very  unusual  kind  of  mittimus,  im- 
porting that  the  jailer  should  receive  and  keep  him  in  safe 
custody,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater ! 
This  earl  had  causelessly  imbibed  a  particular  antipathy  to 
this  inoffensive  man,  to  that  degree,  that  although  the  plague 
was  then  raging,  and  had  reached  that  town,  and  the  jail 
was  supposed  to  be  infected,  he  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon,  by  the  intercession  of  a  person  of  considerable  rank 
and  authority  in  the  county,  to  permit  Isaac  to  remove  to 
another  house  in  the  town,  until  the  jail  should  be  free 
from  infection.  After  a  time,  one  of  the  prisoners  dying 
in  the  jail,  of  that  disease,  the  jailer's  wife,  in  her  hus- 
band's absence,  gave  him  liberty  to  remove  into  another 


264 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1679. 


house :  and  at  length,  by  the  interposition  of  the  Earl  of 
Ancrara,  after  suffering  a  causeless  imprisonment  of  three 
quarters  of  a  year,  he  was  discharged.  But  before  the  end 
of  a  month,  another  party  of  soldiers,  under  the  same  au- 
thority as  before,  came  to  his  house  at  night,  seized  him  in 
his  bed,  and  carried  him  to  the  same  jail  again ;  where, 
without  any  cause,  or  being  charged  with  any  offence,  he 
was  imprisoned  in  rooms  so  damp  and  unhealthy  that  he 
was  thrown  into  a  disease  in  which  he  lay  for  several 
months,  and  his  life  was  greatly  endangered.  During  his 
long  confinement,  he  was  never  called  for  at  the  sessions, 
but  by  some  illegal  means  was  returned  on  the  calendar  to 
remain  in  prison.  At  length  in  1668,  procuring  a  removal 
by  writ  of  habeas  corpus  to  the  court  of  King's  Bench,  when 
he  appeared  there,  no  cause  of  imprisonment  appearing,  the 
court  released  him,  with  plain  indications  of  surprise,  that 
a  man  should  be  so  long  kept  in  prison  for  nothing. 

Last  of  all,  he  was  imprisoned  in  1670  at  Reading; 
whither  he  had  gone  in  the  exercise  of  Christian  charity 
and  fraternal  sympathy,  to  visit  his  friends  in  prison  there. 
This  was,  in  the  eyes  of  that  rigid  and  implacable  magis- 
trate, Sir  William  Armourer,  sufficient  cause  for  his  arrest, 
and  he  was  committed  to  the  same  prison  with  his  friends 
whom  he  came  to  visit.  Here  he  continued  a  prisoner,  a 
year  and  three  quarters,  being  condemned  under  a  sentence 
of  premunire,  until  at  length  he  was  released  by  the  king's 
letters-patent,  in  1672. 

A  fellow-prisoner  gives  the  following  testimony  of  his 
deportment  under  these  repeated  tribulations.  "I  have 
had  knowledge  of  him  near  twenty  years,  especially  in 
suffering ;  for  it  pleased  the  Lord  so  to  order  it,  that  our 
lot  fell  together  in  prison  several  times,  and  I  may  say,  it 
was  well  it  was  so ;  for,  being  made  willing  by  the  power 
of  God,  to  suffer  with  great  patience,  cheerfulness,  content- 
edness,  and  true  nobility  of  s])irit,  he  was  a  good  example 


1679.] 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FKIENDS. 


265 


to  me  and  others.  I  do  not  remember  that  I  ever  saw  him 
cast  down,  or  dejected  in  his  spirit,  in  the  time  of  his  close 
confinement,  nor  speak  hardly  of  those  that  persecuted 
him.  Indeed  I  may  say,  in  the  prison  he  was  a  help  to  the 
weak,  being  made  instrumental  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  to 
that  end.  Oh,  the  remembrance  of  the  glory  that  did  often 
overshadow  us  in  the  place  of  confinement ;  so  that  indeed, 
the  prison  was  made  by  the  Lord  unto  us  as  a  pleasant 
palace."  Many  of  his  excellent  letters  were  written  during 
his  incarcerations. 

Being  thus,  by  divine  assistance,  preserved  through  all 
his  trials,  steadfast  in  the  faith,  he  was  well  prepared  for 
death.  In  the  year  1679,  being  at  Goodnestone  Court  in 
Kent,  a  farm  belonging  to  his  wife,  (who  was  the  widow  of 
Sir  William  Springett,)  he  was  there  taken  ill  of  a  painful 
disorder.  The  anguish  of  his  body,  however,  gave  no  shock 
to  the  inward  peace  with  which  he  w^as  favored.  He  died, 
as  he  had  lived,  in  the  faith  that  overcomes  the  world, 
leaving  to  posterity,  by  his  life,  and  by  his  excellent  writings, 
an  animating  example  of  that  Christian  purity  and  wis- 
dom, which  can  only  be  attained  by  unremitting  watchful- 
ness, and  attention  to  the  inspeaking,  quick,  and  powerful 
Word  of  divine  Grace. 
23 


266 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1680. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


PENNSYLVANIA    GRANTED   TO  WILLIAM   PENN  —  PERSECU- 
TION AT  BRISTOL. 


E  have  seen  by  the  occurrences  narrated  to  have  taken 


'  »  place  in  the  colonies  of  New  England,  that  notwith- 
standing the  plea  of  liberty  of  conscience  with  which  those 
colonies  set  out,  they  furnished  a  very  imperfect  kind  of 
refuge  to  our  Friends  from  the  persecutions  rife  in  the  old 
world.  But  the  time  now  approached,  when  their  Divine 
Master  saw  fit  to  grant  to  his  servants  an  asylum  on  the 
Western  Continent  under  circumstances  which  assured  to 
them,  at  least  for  many  years,  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of 
their  religious  rights. 

William  Penn  had  for  some  years  been  interested  in 
promoting  the  colonization  of  West  Jersey  as  a  trustee  of 
the  estate  of  Edward  Byllinge.  His  attention  had  thus 
been  attracted  at  times  across  the  great  ocean,  and  probably 
a  remembrance  occasionally  renewed  of  the  prospect  which 
he  seems  to  have  had  at  an  early  period  of  his  life,  of  use- 
fulness in  the  Western  World.  And  now  having  long  wit- 
nessed the  sufferings  to  which  his  friends  were  subjected  for 
their  faithful  adherence  to  their  religious  convictions,  he 
became  desirous  of  obtaining  a  grant  of  a  tract  of  countiy 
in  the  wilderness  of  America,  where  he  might  furnish  them 
a  retreat  from  the  malice  of  their  enemies,  and  found  a 
government  based  on  the  principles  of  Christianity.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1680,  he  applied  to  King  Charles  II.  for  a 
grant  of  territory,  and  power  to  found  a  colony.  After 
considerable  deliberation  the  request  was  acceded  to,  and  a 
charter  granted  on  the  fourth  of  the  month  called  March, 


1681.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


267 


1681,  by  which  AVilliam  Peun  was  constituted  Proprietor 
and  Governor  of  the  new  colony,  named  by  the  king,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

By  this  charter  William  Penn  became  possessed  of  very 
considerable  political  power,  and,  as  far  as  the  royal  grant 
was  competent  to  give  him  possession,  of  an  extensive 
country,  nearly  covered  with  woods,  and  chiefly  occupied 
by  wandering  tribes  of  Indians.  These,  he  was  well  aware, 
were  the  real  owners  of  the  soil,  and  he  early  determined 
not  to  overlook  their  rights,  or  follow  the  example  of  those 
who  had  preceded  him  in  other  colonies,  of  robbing  and 
oppressing  this  poor  defenceless  people. 

Soon  after  obtaining  the  charter,  he  commenced  prepara- 
tions for  settling  the  province  :  he  published  such  an  account 
of  the  country  as  could  then  be  obtained,  with  a  copy  of 
the  charter,  and  a  statement  of  the  terms  on  which  the 
lands  would  be  sold ;  and  a  large  number  of  purchasers 
coming  forw"ard,  he  drew  up,  and  presented  to  them  certain 
conditions,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  first  step  to  a 
constitution  of  government.  This  document  contained 
twenty-four  articles,  which  were  consented  to  and  subscribed 
by  the  first  settlers ;  the  first  article  being  on  a  matter 
which  was  very  near  to  his  feelings,  and  expressed  as  fol- 
lows : 

*'  In  reverence  to  God,  the  Father  of  light  and  spirits, 
the  author,  as  well  as  object,  of  all  divine  knowledge, 
faith,  and  worship,  I  do,  for  me  and  mine,  declare  and 
establish,  for  the  first  fundamental  of  the  government  of 
this  country,  that  every  person  that  doth  or  shall  reside 
therein,  shall  have  and  enjoy  the  free  profession  of  his  or 
her  faith,  and  exercise  of  worship  towards  God,  in  such  way 
and  manner  as  every  such  person  shall  in  conscience  believe 
is  most  acceptable  to  God :  and  so  long  as  every  such  per- 
son useth  not  this  Christian  liberty  to  licentiousness,  or  the 
destruction  of  others ;  that  is  to  say,  to  speak  loosely  and 


268 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1682. 


profanely  or  contemptuously  of  God,  Christ,  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  or  religion,  or  commit  any  moral  evil  or  injury 
against  others  in  their  conversation ;  he  or  she  shall  be  pro- 
tected in  the  enjoyment  of  the  aforesaid  Christian  liberty 
by  the  civil  magistrate." 

He  wrote  also  on  the  eighteenth  of  the  Eighth  month, 
1681,  a  kind  letter  to  the  Indian  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
try, recognizing  the  same  Lord  over  all,  for  the  red  as  for 
the  white  man,  to  whom  we  must  all  give  account ;  men- 
tioning the  royal  grant  of  a  tract  of  country  to  himself,  but 
desiring  to  enjoy  it  with  their  love  and  consent ;  and  in- 
forming them  that  he  should  shortly  appear  among  them 
personally,  but  in  the  mean  time  had  sent  commissioners  to 
treat  with  them  about  the  land,  and  a  firm  league  of  peace. 

These  commissioners  were  enjoined,  in  negotiating  with 
the  natives  for  the  sale  of  their  lands,  to  treat  them  with 
all  possible  justice,  candor,  and  humanity. 

Having  at  length  completed  the  arrangements  for  his 
departure,  he  wrote  a  beautiful  and  touching  letter  to  his 
Vvife  and  children,  exhorting  them  by  the  most  tender  en- 
treaties of  a  father's  love,  to  a  godly  life,  and  a  cultivation 
of  the  true  graces  and  virtues  of  the  genuine  Christian ; 
and  going  on  board  the  ship  "  Welcome "  in  the  Sixth 
month,  1682,  he  addressed  on  the  30th,  from  the  Downs,  an 
affectionate  farewell  epistle  to  his  Friends  in  England. 

He  had  about  one  hundred  fellow-passengers,  chiefly  of 
his  own  Society,  but  the  small-pox  breaking  out  among 
them,  carried  off  nearly  one-third  of  the  number.  In  this 
trying  situation,  he  administered  to  the  sick  all  the  comfort 
and  assistance  in  his  power,  not  seeking  his  own  ease  wdien 
his  exertions  could  be  of  any  use  to  his  fellow-creatures. 
After  a  voyage  of  six  weeks,  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
American  shores,  and  sailing  up  the  Delaware  Bay  and 
river,  received  the  hearty  congratulations  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  landed  at  Newcastle  on  the  24th  of  the  Eighth 


1682.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


269 


month.  Here  he  took  possession  of  his  territory,  having 
obtained  from  the  Duke  of  York,  before  his  departure,  the 
three  lower  counties  on  the  Delaware  Bay  to  annex  to  his 
province ;  and  soon  afterwards  proceeded  to  Chester,  then 
called  Uplands,  and  convened  an  assembly  there,  consisting 
of  an  equal  number  of  freemen  from  Pennsylvania  and 
from  these  lower  counties.  This  assembly,  though  only 
three  days  in  session,  passed  several  important  laws,  the 
first  of  which  was  to  insure  liberty  of  conscience  to  every 
one  who  should  "  confess  one  Almighty  God  to  be  the  Cre- 
ator, U23holder,  and  Ruler  of  the  world,  and  profess  him- 
self obliged  in  conscience  to  live  peaceably  and  justly  un- 
der the  civil  government.  By  these  laws,  the  officers  of 
the  government  were  required  to  be  such  as  professed  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  Scandalous  vices  of  every  description 
were  prohibited,  and  provision  was  made  for  training  chil- 
dren to  business,  to  prevent  pauperism.  Some  new  views 
were  introduced  into  the  penal  system,  prisons  being  con- 
sidered as  places  of  reformation,  and  not  merely  of  vindic- 
tive j^unishment. 

In  a  letter  written  from  this  place  soon  afterwards,  he 
declared  himself  "  much  satisfied  with  his  place  and  por- 
tion, yet  busy  enough,  having  much  to  do  to  please  all ; " 
and  comparing  his  allotment  with  what  he  had  elsewhere 
witnessed,  he  exclaimed,  "Oh,  how  sweet  is  the  quiet  of 
these  parts,  freed  from  the  anxious  and  troublesome  solici- 
tations, heresies,  and  perplexities  of  woful  Europe."  — 
"Blessed  be  God — my  soul  fervently  breathes,  that  in 
His  heavenly  guiding  wisdom  we  may  be  kept :  that  we 
may  serve  him  in  our  day,  and  lay  down  our  heads  in 
peace." 

It  was  not  long  before  he  redeemed  his  promise  to  the 
Indians,  of  coming  among  them  in  person ;  for  in  the  au- 
tumn of  this  year,  he  held  his  celebrated  treaty  with  these 
people  at  Shackamaxon,  about  two  miles  north  of  the  orig- 


270 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1682. 


inal  site  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  since  included 
within  its  limits.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  rec- 
ords of  this  treaty  have  been  lost,  and  nothing  remains  re- 
specting it  but  tradition,  and  the  deep  and  indelible  im- 
pression which  it  made  in  the  heart  of  the  red  man.  This 
impression  was  one  of  lasting  gratitude  for  the  justice  and 
kindness  with  which  they  had  been  treated  by  William 
Penn,  and  of  unwavering  confidence  to  this  day  in  the  sin- 
cerity and  friendship  of  his  brethren  in  religious  fellowship. 
The  immediate  object  of  the  treaty  was  probably  the  for- 
mation of  a  league  of  perpetual  friendship  and  mutual 
confidence ;  the  purchase  of  land  having  been  previously 
effected  by  William  Penn's  commissioners,  as  far  as  was 
necessary  for  the  early  requirements  of  the  colony.  A  cele- 
brated writer  has  designated  this  treaty  as  the  only  one 
between  the  Indians  and  Christians  which  had  not  been 
ratified  by  an  oath,  and  the  only  one  that  was  never  in- 
fringed. It  was,  too,  a  commencement  of  that  system  of 
peaceful  and  Christian  practice,  by  Avhich,  during  a  series 
of  several  years,  whilst  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania  was  un- 
der the  control  of  Friends,  was  fully  exemplified  that  great 
and  important  truth,  that  war  is  not  an  unavoidable  part 
of  the  intercourse  of  nations,  but  that  by  a  firm  adherence 
to  the  dictates  of  Christian  principle,  the  occasions  which 
call  it  forth  may  be  entirely  avoided.  This  was  a  grand 
experiment,  and  its  success  was  to  the  honor  of  that  great 
Name,  under  whose  promptings  it  was  conceived,  and  who 
having  vouchsafed  to  his  servants  a  clear  sense  of  His  will, 
granted  them  strength  also  in  the  time  of  need,  to  carry 
out  his  blessed  designs. 

Before  this  year  was  concluded,  William  Penn  proceeded 
to  lay  out  the  plan  for  his  intended  metropolis,  in  a  very 
favorable  situation,  then  called  by  the  Indians  Coaquan- 
nock ;  and  displayed  the  prominent  social  feeling  of  his 
mind,  in  naming  it  the  city  of  Brotherly  Love.  There 


1682.] 


THE   SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


271 


'^ere  on  William  Perm's  arrival,  about  four  thousand  in- 
habitants in  the  province,  chiefly  Dutch  and  Swedes ;  and 
in  little  more  than  a  year  after  the  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  settlement  of  the  province,  more  than  two 
thousand  emigrants  arrived,  a  large  portion  of  them  being 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  These  scattering  along 
the  Delaware,  according  as  their  choice  or  convenience  led 
them,  the  country  was  soon  peopled,  though  thinly,  from 
Chester  to  the  Falls  at  Trenton.  Before  William  Penn's 
arrival,  a  meeting  of  Friends  had  been  held  at  Shacka- 
maxon,  and  in  1682,  a  meeting  was  held  in  a  frame  house 
erected  for  the  purpose,  within  the  present  limits  of  Phila- 
delphia. A  brick  meeting-house,  near  the  centre  of  the 
plot  of  the  intended  city,  was  built  two  years  afterwards. 
The  house  on  the  bank  of  the  river  in  Front  street,  called 
the  Bank  meeting-house,  was  erected  in  1683 ;  and  the 
great  meeting-house  on  High  street,  in  1695.  These  are 
all  that  were  erected  in  the  city  during  William  Penn's 
lifetime.  A  meeting  of  Friends  was  held  at  Upland,  now 
Chester,  several  years  before  the  arrival  of  William  Penn, 
and  at  that  place,  a  meeting  of  record,  probably  the  first  in 
the  province,  was  held  as  early  as  1681.  A  meeting  was 
also  settled  at  Darby  in  1682,  and  in  the  course  of  this 
year,  great  numbers  of  emigrants  arrived  from  England, 
Ireland,  Wales,  Germany,  and  Holland.  The  Welsh  set- 
tled on  both  sides  of  the  Schuylkill  river ;  and  among  the 
German  emigrants  were  a  number  of  Friends  from  Kris- 
heim  in  the  Palatinate,  among  whom  William  Penn  had 
travelled  in  the  service  of  the  gospel  in  1677,  and  who 
formed  the  flourishing  settlement  of  Germantown. 

During  the  year  1683,  the  legislature  held  a  session  in 
Philadelphia,  the  members  being  chosen  as  representatives 
by  the  freemen  of  the  province.  Considerable  progress 
was  made  in  the  erection  of  the  new  city,  so  that  by  the 
end  of  the  year,  one  hundred  houses  had  arisen  from  the 


272 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1682. 


former  forest;  the  land  in  the  vicinity  was  in  places 
cleared  and  Lrouglit  into  cultivation  ;  and  the  grains  of 
Europe  were  beginning  to  flourish  in  the  soil  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

After  about  two  years'  residence  in  the  country,  having 
settled  the  colony  in  a  thriving  and  prosperous  condition, 
and  addressed  a  tender  and  affectionate  epistolary  exhorta- 
tion to  the  members  of  his  own  Society  in  his  province, 
William  Penn  thought  it  best  to  return  to  England,  and 
arrived  there  on  the  12th  of  Sixth  month,  1684. 

In  the  year  1682,  a  dismal  scene  of  persecution  had  been 
opened  in  the  city  of  Bristol,  in  England.  The  meetings 
of  Friends  were  grievously  disturbed,  their  houses  broken 
into,  and  almost  all  manner  of  violence  and  abuse  com- 
mitted, chiefly  at  the  instigation  of  a  cruel  sheriff*.  It  is 
true,  the  meetings  of  other  Protestant  dissenters  were  then 
also  disturbed ;  but  it  seems  they  did  not  so  much  persist 
in  their  religious  testimony,  and  were  accordingly  not  by 
any  means  so  obnoxious  to  that  insolent  outrage,  to  which 
this  people,  from  their  constancy  and  non-resistance,  were 
liable.  The  vilest  characters  were  permitted  and  en- 
couraged to  commit  every  kind  of  "  excess  of  riot,"  with- 
out regard  to  sex,  age,  or  condition.  Nay,  even  ancient 
men  and  Avomen  were  hurried  to  prison  with  force  and 
blows,  and  the  little  children  beaten  on  the  head  till  they 
became  giddy,  and  then  taken  to  Bridewell,  and  terrified 
by  the  prospect  of  whipping,  unless  they  would  promise  to 
go  no  more  to  their  meetings. 

But  the  malice  and  threats  that  were  used,  even  to  this 
youthful  class  of  sufferers,  did  not  succeed  in  subduing 
their  constancy ;  though  scarce  a  stone  was  left  unturned, 
in  their  attempts  to  afflict  Friends,  and  deter  them  from 
assembling  to  worship  their  Maker.  These  disturbances 
continued  till  nearly  all  the  men  were  taken  to  prison. 


1682.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


273 


Even  there,  however,  their  persecutions  did  not  cease,  but 
were  greatly  increased  by  privations  and  ill  treatment. 
They  were  so  closely  thronged,  that  there  was  barely  room 
for  them  to  rest  themselves  at  night  on  the  floors ;  and  in 
other  respects  also  their  health  and  lives  were  so  far  en- 
dangered, that  four  physicians  of  Bristol  thought  fit  to  give 
forth  a  certificate  to  that  effect. 

After  this,  the  religious  meetings  of  Friends  continuing 
to  be  kept  up  chiefly  by  women,  they  also  were  seized,  till 
at  length  few  or  none  but  children,  that  remained  Avith  the 
domestics  in  the  houses  of  their  j^areuts,  were  left  free.  It 
is,  however,  very  remarkable,  that  these  pious  children, 
mostly  under  the  age  of  sixteen,  now  performed  what  their 
parents  by  being  imprisoned,  were  prevented  from  doing. 
They  met  for  the  purpose  of  Divine  worship,  and  con- 
tinued faithful  without  fainting,  through  all  the  insults 
of  a  wicked  rabble,  from  whom  they  suffered  exceedingly. 
Nineteen  of  them  were  carried  to  the  House  of  Correc- 
tion, and  kept  some  time  there,  though  from  their  tender 
age  they  were  not  within  the  reach  of  the  law.  When 
threatened  with  whipping  if  they  returned  to  their  meet- 
ing, so  great  was  their  zeal,  that,  despising  all  reproach 
and  insolence,  they  remained  steadfast  to  their  duty.  This 
persecution  lasted  till  the  next  year,  as  it  did  with  unre- 
lenting cruelty  in  many  other  parts  of  England ;  so  that 
more  than  seven  hundred  Friends  were  confined  in  jails 
throughout  the  kingdom  during  the  year  1683. 

Some  of  the  prisoners  would  have  willingly  worked  in 
prison,  to  earn  something  for  their  sustenance;  but  the 
jailer,  who  was  one  of  the  chief  instruments  of  the  cruel- 
ties exercised  upon  them,  would  not  permit  it.  One  vener- 
able man  near  ninety  years  of  age,  was  kept  three  nights 
without  a  bed,  though  others  offered  to  pay  for  accommoda- 
tions for  him,  if  the  jailer  would  allow  it.  Other  prison- 
ers fell  sick  of  the  "  spotted  fever,"  and  some  of  them  died. 


274 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1683. 


Yet  all  this  did  not  soften  this  hard-hearted  man.  At 
length,  however,  a  heavy  stroke  fell  upon  him.  He  was 
taken  ill,  and  was  seized  with  terrible  anguish  of  mind, 
and  in  his  distress  he  desired  some  of  those  called  Quakers 
to  pray  for  him,  and  to  forgive  him  for  what  he  had  done. 
They  freely  answered  that  they  forgave  him  ;  but  advised 
him  to  ask  forgiveness  of  God.  His  anguish  increased; 
and  when  the  physicians  ordered  him  to  be  bled,  he  said, 
"  No  physic  would  benefit  him  ;  his  distemper  was  another 
thing;  that  no  man  could  do  him  good  —  his  day  being 
over  —  and  there  was  no  hope  of  mercy  for  him  from 
God  ! "  Friends  told  him,  they  desired,  if  it  was  the  will 
of  God,  he  might  find  a  "place  of  repentance."  But 
whatever  was  advanced,  encouraging  him  yet  to  try  to  ob- 
tain peace  and  mercy,  he  would  repeat,  that  his  day  was 
over,  and  that  he  had  no  faith  to  believe.  He  remained 
about  a  month  in  this  lamentable  condition,  and  died 
without  any  visible  signs  of  forgiveness  ;  but  the  judgment 
thereof  must  be  left  to  God,  the  "Judge  of  quick  and 
dead." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  DEATHS  OF   DAVID  AND  ROBERT  BARCLAY,  AND 
GEORGE  FOX. 

AMONG  those  champions  of  the  truth  whom  we  have 
seen  to  have  fearlessly  withstood  the  persecuting 
spirit  of  intolerance  in  Scotland,  was  David  Barclay.  The 
latter  part  of  his  days  he  passed  chiefly  at  his  estate  of 
Ury,  enjoying  the  tranquillity  of  a  country  life,  after  many 
years  of  hardship  and  trial,  and  favored  with  that  inesti- 


1683.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


275 


mable  treasure,  "the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all 
understanding."  About  the  76th  year  of  his  age,  he  was 
attacked  by  a  fever,  which  in  about  two  weeks,  removed 
him  to  an  "inheritance  incorruptible,  that  fadeth  not 
away."  During  his  sickness,  though  under  much  bodily 
suffering,  he  was  preserved  in  a  quiet,  contented  mind, 
freely  resigned  to  the  will  of  God ;  and  several  times 
testified  in  a  lively  manner,  to  the  truth  of  the  principles 
and  practices  into  which  he  had  been  led,  and  to  the  love 
of  God  shed  abroad  in  his  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  On 
one  occasion,  being  in  much  pain,  he  thought  he  was 
dying ;  but  expressed  his  confidence,  that  he  should  go  to 
the  Lord,  and  be  gathered  to  many  of  his  brethren,  who 
had  gone  before  him,  and  to  his  dear  son  David,  an  ami- 
able, exemplary  youth,  and  acceptable  minister  among 
Friends,  who  had  died  at  sea  on  his  voyage  to  America, 
about  a  year  before. 

On  the  11th  of  Eighth  month,  about  two  or  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  he  grew  weaker ;  and  his  son  Robert  ap- 
proaching him,  expressed  his  desire,  that  He  who  had 
loved  him  might  be  near  him  to  the  end.  He  answered, 
"The  Lord  Z.5  nigh  ; "  repeating  —  "You  are  my  witnesses 
in  the  presence  of  God,  that  the  Lord  is  nigh."  A  little 
after,  in  reference  to  the  convincement  of  the  truth  which 
he  and  his  family  had  experienced,  he  exclaimed,  — "  The 
perfect  discovery  of  the  '  Day-spring  from  on  high  I' —  how 
great  a  blessing  it  hath  been  to  me  and  to  my  family  !  " 
Being  asked  to  have  something  to  refresh  him,  he  laid  his 
hand  on  his  breast,  saying,  "he  had  that  inwardly  v^hich. 
refreshed  him;"  and  after  a  little  time,  added  several 
times,  "  The  Truth  is  over  all." 

After  kissing  his  grandchildren,  and  desiring  the  divine 
blessing  upon  them,  he  spoke  in  a  serious  weighty  manner 
to  the  father  and  sisters  of  his  son  Robert's  wife ;  and  per- 
ceiving one  of  them  who  was  not  a  Friend,  weeping  much, 


276 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1686. 


he  desired  that  she  might  come  to  the  Truth,  and  bade  her 
not  to  weep  for  him,  but  for  herself.  The  medical  attend- 
ant coming  near,  he  took  him  by  the  hand,  saying,  "Thou 
wilt  bear  me  witness,  that  in  all  this  exercise,  I  have  not 
been  curious  to  tamper  nor  to  pamper  the  flesh."  He  an- 
swered, "Sir,  I  can  bear  witness,  that  you  have  always 
minded  the  better  and  more  substantial  part ;  and  rejoice 
to  see  the  blessed  end  the  Lord  is  bringing  you  to."  David 
enjoined  him  to  "bear  a  faithful  and  true  witness;"  — 
"yet,"  added  he,  emphatically,  "it  is  the  life  of  righteous- 
ness— it  is  the  life  of  righteousness,  that  we  bear  testimony 
to,  and  not  to  an  empty  profession."  Then  he  said  several 
times,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come,  come!"  And  again, 
"  My  hope  is  in  the  Lord."  He  sent  by  his  son,  Kobert, 
a  message  to  the  carpenter :  "  See  thou  charge  him  to  make 
no  manner  of  superfluity  upon  my  coflin." 

Several  Friends  from  Aberdeen  coming  to  see  him,  and 
one  of  them,  his  faithful  fellow-laborer,  Patrick  Living- 
stone, having  supplicated  and  praised  the  Father  of  all 
mercies,  David  held  up  his  hands,  and  said,  "Amen,  amen, 
forever ! "  And  afterwards,  when  they  stood  looking  at  him, 
he  said,  "  How  precious  is  the  love  of  God  among  his  chil- 
dren, and  their  love  one  to  another.  Thereby  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  Christ's  disciples,  if  you  love  one  another. 
— My  love  is  with  you — I  leave  it  among  you."  About 
eight  at  night,  several  Friends  standing  around  the  bed,  he, 
perceiving  some  of  them  weep,  said,  "Dear  Friends!  all 
mind  the  inward  man — heed  not  the  outward: — there  is 
One  that  doth  regard — the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name!" 
After  he  heard  the  clock  strike  three,  in  the  morning,  he 
said,  "  Now  the  time  comes."  And  a  little  afterwards  he 
was  heard  to  say,  "  Praises,  praises,  praises  to  the  Lord  !  — 
Let  now  thy  servant  depart  in  peace. — Unto  thy  hands,  O 
Father!  I  commit  my  soul,  spirit,  and  body. — Thy  will,  O 
Lord !  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven !  "    These  sen- 


1690.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


277 


fences  he  spoke  by  short  intervals ;  and  at  a  little  after  five 
in  the  morning,  his  spirit  passed  away,  in  remarkable 
sweetness  and  quietness. 

The  loss  sustained  by  Friends  in  Scotland,  in  the  removal 
of  this  pious  man,  was  soon  followed  by  one  felt  through 
the  Society  at  large,  in  the  death  of  that  eminent  Christian 
advocate,  his  son,  Robert  Barclay.  This  greatly  gifted 
man  spent  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  in  much  retire- 
ment. In  the  year  1690,  however,  he  accompanied  James 
Dickenson,  of  Cumberland,  in  a  religious  visit  to  some 
parts  of  the  north  of  Scotland  :  and  returning  to  Ury,  from 
a  meeting  at  Aberdeen,  he  was  immediately  seized  with  a 
violent  fever ;  and  in  about  eight  or  nine  days,  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  take  him  out  of  this  world,  to  a  kingdom  of 
eternal  glory.  James  Dickenson  was  with  him  during  his 
illness,  which  was  a  solemn  season ;  and  while  he  sat  by 
him,  the  Lord's  power  and  presence  bowed  their  hearts  to- 
gether, and  Robert  Barclay  was  sweetly  melted  in  a  sense 
of  God's  love.  Though  much  oppressed  by  the  disorder, 
an  entirely  resigned,  peaceful,  and  Christian  frame  of  mind 
shone  through  all.  With  tears,  he  expressed  the  love  he 
bore  towards  "all  faithful  brethren  in  England,  who  kept 
their  integrity  to  the  Truth,"  and  added,  "Remember  my 
love  to  Friends  in  Cumberland,  and  at  Swarthmore,  to 
dear  George,  [meaning  George  Fox,]  and  to  all  the  faithful 
everywhere ; "  concluding  with  these  comfortable  expres- 
sions: —  "God  is  good  still:  and  though  I  am  under  a 
great  weight  of  sickness  and  weakness  as  to  my  body,  yet 
my  peace  floivs.  And  this  I  know,  that  whatever  exercises 
jnay  be  permitted  to  come  upon  me,  they  shall  tend  to 
God's  glory  and  my  salvation ;  and  in  that  I  rest."  He 
died  on  the  third  of  the  Eighth  month,  1690,  in  the  42d 
year  of  his  age. 

Robert  Barclay  was  distinguished  by  strong  mental  pow- 
ers, particularly  by  great  penetration,  and  a  sound  and 
24 


278 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


accurate  judgment.  His  talents  were  much  Improved  by 
a  regular  and  classical  education ;  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  his  superior  attainments  produced  that  elation  of  mind, 
which  is  too  often  their  attendant.  He  was  meek,  humble, 
and  ready  to  allow  to  others  the  merits  they  possessed.  His 
passions  were  under  the  most  excellent  government.  Two 
of  his  intimate  friends  have  declared,  that  they  never 
knew^  him  to  be  angry.  He  had  the  happiness  of  early  per- 
ceiving the  infinite  superiority  of  religion,  to  every  other 
attainment ;  and  Divine  Grace  enabled  him  to  dedicate  his 
life,  and  all  that  he  possessed,  to  promote  the  cause  of  piety 
and  virtue.  For  the  welfare  of  his  friends  he  was  sincerely 
and  warmly  concerned ;  and  he  travelled  and  WTote  much, 
as  well  as  suffered  cheerfully,  in  support  of  that  Society 
and  those  principles  to  which  he  had  conscientiously  at- 
tached himself.  This  was  not  a  blind  and  bigoted  attach- 
ment :  his  zeal  was  tempered  with  charity ;  and  he  loved 
and  respected  goodness,  wherever  he  found  it.  His  uncor- 
rupted  integrity  and  liberality  of  sentiment,  his  great  abil- 
ities, and  the  suavity  of  his  disposition,  gave  him  much 
interest  with  persons  of  rank  and  influence ;  and  he  em- 
ployed it  in  a  manner  that  marked  the  benevolence  of  his 
heart.  He  loved  peace,  and  was  often  instrumental  in  pro- 
ducing reconciliation  between  contending  parties.  In  the 
support  and  pursuit  of  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  he 
possessed  great  firmness  of  mind ;  and  this  firm  and  reso- 
lute spirit  in  the  prosecution  of  duty,  was  united  with  great 
sympathy  and  compassion  towards  persons  in  affliction  and 
distress.  They  were  consoled  by  his  tenderness,  assisted  by 
his  advice,  and  as  occasion  required,  were  relieved  by  his 
bounty.  His  spiritual  discernment  and  religious  expe- 
rience, directed  by  that  Divine  influence  which  he  valued 
above  all  things,  eminently  qualified  him  to  instruct  the 
ignorant,  to  reprove  the  irreligious,  to  strengthen  the  feeble- 
minded, and  to  animate  the  advanced  Christian  to  still 
greater  degrees  of  virtue  and  holiness. 


1690.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


279 


In  private  life,  he  was  equally  amiable.  His  conversa- 
tion was  cheerful,  guarded,  and  instructive.  He  was  a 
dutiful  son,  an  affectionate  and  faithful  husband,  a  tender 
and  careful  father,  a  kind  and  considerate  master.  Though 
the  period  of  his  life  was  short,  he  had,  by  the  aid  of  Divine 
Grace,  most  wisely  and  happily  improved  it ;  and  he  lived 
long  enough  to  manifest,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  temper 
and  conduct  of  a  Christian,  and  the  virtues  and  qualifica- 
tions of  a  true  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Of  his  deep  and 
excellent  Avritings  we  have  already  spoken. 

Scarcely  had  the  Society  recovered  from  the  shock  occa- 
sioned by  the  early  removal  of  this  upright  pillar  from  the 
church,  when  it  was  called  upon  to  surrender  into  the  abodes 
of  everlasting  peace,  that  eminent  servant  of  Christ  who 
had  been,  more  than  any  other  man,  instrumental  in  gather- 
ing it  from  the  "  lo  !  heres,"  and  "  lo  I  theres,"  of  the  barren 
mountains  of  empty,  though  plausible  profession,  into  the 
green  pastures  and  fruitful  fields  of  substance  and  of  life. 

The  latter  part  of  the  life  of  George  Fox  was  chiefly 
passed  in  or  near  London.  His  bodily  health  had  for  some 
years  been  declining,  in  consequence  of  his  many  and 
grievous  imprisonments  and  other  sufferings  and  exercises 
of  body  and  mind,  his  long  travels  for  the  promotion  of  the 
cause  of  truth,  and  his  incessant  labors  in  defence  of  the 
Gospel,  against  the  clamor  and  opposition  of  apostate 
brethren,  and  the  unfounded  imputations  of  open  enemies  to 
the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

His  solicitude,  however,  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
Society,  remained  undiminished.  He  wrote  many  epistles 
to  his  Friends,  some  of  sympathy  and  consolation,  to  en- 
courage and  strengthen  them  in  their  deep  sufferings ; 
others  of  counsel,  exhortation;  and  reproof,  "  stirring  up 
the  pure  mind  by  way  of  remembrance,"  and  laboring  to 
build  them  up  in  the  most  holy  faith.  On  the  10th  day 
of  the  Eleventh  month,  1690,  he  wrote  an  epistle  to  Friends 


280 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


in  Ireland,  full  of  consolation  to  them  under  the  sufferings 
which  then  lay  heavy  upon  them ;  and  the  next  day  being 
First-day,  went  to  the  meeting  at  Grace-church  street,  Lon- 
don :  where  the  Lord  enabled  him  to  preach  the  truth  fully 
and  effectually,  opening  many  deep  and  weighty  things 
with  great  power  and  clearness.  After  which,  having 
prayed,  and  the  meeting  being  ended,  he  went  to  a  Friend's 
house  near  the  meeting-house ;  and  some  Friends  accom- 
panying him,  he  told  them,  "  he  thought  he  felt  the  cold 
strike  to  his  heart,  as  he  came  out  of  the  meeting ; "  but 
added,  "I  am  glad  I  was  here;  now  I  am  clear,  I  am  fully 
clear^  When  those  Friends  had  Avithdrawn,  he  reclined 
on  a  bed,  complaining  still  of  cold.  And  his  strength 
sensibly  declining,  he  soon  took  to  his  bed  entirely ;  where 
he  lay  in  much  contentment  and  peace,  and  very  sensible 
to  the  last.  And  as,  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  his 
spirit,  in  the  universal  love  of  God,  had  bent  its  main 
energies  to  the  promotion  of  righteousness  and  piety  in  the 
earth ;  so  now,  when  the  outward  man  was  wasting  away, 
his  mind  seemed  absorbed  in  desires  for  the  spreading  of 
the  cause  of  Truth.  He  sent  for  some  Friends,  and  ex- 
pressed to  them  his  dying  wishes  for  the  wide  dissemination 
of  the  writings  of  Friends  in  the  world  at  large.  To 
some  who  came  to  visit  him,  he  said,  "  All  is  well ;  the 
Seed  of  God  reigns  over  all,  and  over  death  itself.  And 
though  I  am  weak  in  body,  yet  the  power  of  God  is  over 
all,  and  the  Seed  reigns  over  all  disorderly  spirits."  Thus 
lying  in  a  heavenly  frame  of  mind,  his  spirit  wholly  exer- 
cised towards  the  Most  High,  he  gradually  grew  weaker, 
until  on  the  Third-day  of  the  week,  the  13th  of  Eleventh 
month,  1690,  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten  in  the 
evening,  he  sweetly  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,  whose  blessed 
truth  he  had  livingly  and  powerfully  preached  in  the 
meeting  but  two  days  before.  He  died  in  the  67th  year 
of  his  age. 


1690.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


281 


This  extraordinary  man,  as  Thomas  Elhvood  testifies, 
"  was  valiant  for  the  truth,  bold  in  asserting  it,  patient  in 
suffering  for  it,  unwearied  in  laboring  in  it,  steady  in  his 
testimony  to  it,  immovable  as  a  rock.  Deep  he  was  in 
divine  knowledge,  clear  in  opening  heavenly  mysteries, 
plain  and  powerful  in  preaching,  fervent  in  prayer.  He 
was  richly  endowed  with  heavenly  wisdom,  quick  in  dis- 
cerning, sound  in  judgment,  able  and  ready  in  giving,  and 
discpeet  in  keeping,  counsel ;  a  lover  of  righteousness,  an 
encourager  of  virtue,  justice,  temperance,  meekness,  purity, 
chastity,  modesty,  humility,  charity,  and  self-denial  in  all, 
both  by  word  and  example.  Graceful  he  was  in  counte- 
nance, manly  in  personage,  grave  in  gesture,  courteous  in 
conversation,  weighty  in  communication,  instructive  in  dis- 
course, free  from  affectation  in  speech  or  carriage.  A 
severe  reprover  of  hard  and  obstinate  sinners ;  a  mild  and 
gentle  admonisher  of  such  as  were  tender,  and  sensible  of 
their  failings.  Not  apt  to  resent  personal  wrongs ;  easy  to 
forgive  injuries ;  but  zealously  earnest  where  the  honor  of 
God,  the  prosperity  of  truth,  and  the  peace  of  the  church, 
were  concerned.  Very  tender,  compassionate,  and  pitiful 
he  was  to  all  that  were  under  any  sort  of  affliction ;  full 
of  brotherly  love,  full  of  fatherly  care ;  for  indeed  the  care 
of  the  churches  of  Christ  was  daily  upon  him,  the  pros- 
perity and  peace  whereof  he  studiously  sought." 

His  character  has  been  thus  beautifully  portrayed  also 
by  his  intimate  friend  William  Penn. 

"  He  was  a  man  that  God  endued  with  a  clear  and  won- 
derful depth ;  a  discerner  of  others'  spirits,  and  very  much 
a  master  of  his  own.  And  though  that  side  of  his  under- 
standing which  lay  next  to  the  world,  and  especially  the 
expression  of  it,  might  sound  uncouth  and  unfashionable 
to  nice  ears,  his  matter  was  nevertheless  very  profound  — 
and  as  abruptly  and  brokenly  as  sometimes  his  sentences 
would  seem  to  fall  from  him,  about  divine  things,  it  is  well 
24  * 


282 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


known  they  were  often  as  texts  to  many  fairer  declara- 
tions. And  indeed,  it  showed  beyond  all  contradiction 
that  God  sent  him,  in  that  no  art  or  parts  had  any  share 
in  the  matter  or  manner  of  his  ministry;  and  that  so 
many  great,  excellent,  and  necessary  truths,  as  he  came 
forth  to  preach  to  mankind,  had  therefore  nothing  of  man's 
wit  or  wisdom  to  recommend  them.  So  that  as  to  man  he 
was  an  original,  being  no  man's  copy.  And  his  ministry 
and  writings  show^  that  they  are  from  one  that  was  not 
taught  of  man,  nor  had  learned  what  he  said  by  study. 
Nor  were  they  notional  or  speculative,  but  sensible  and 
practical  truths,  tending  to  conversion  and  regeneration, 
and  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  hearts 
of  men. 

"  In  his  ministry,  he  much  labored  to  open  truth  to  the 
people's  understandings,  and  to  bottom  them  on  Christ 
Jesus,  the  Light  of  the  world ;  that  by  bringing  them  to 
something  that  was  from  God  in  themselves,  they  might 
the  better  know  and  judge  of  Him  and  themselves.  He 
had  an  extraordinary  gift  in  opening  the  Scriptures.  He 
would  go  to  the  marrow  of  things,  and  show  the  mind, 
harmony,  and  fulfilling  of  them  with  much  plainness,  and 
to  great  comfort  and  edification.  The  mystery  of  the  first 
and  second  Adam,  of  the  fall  and  restoration,  of  the  law 
and  gospel,  of  shadows  and  substance,  of  the  servant's  and 
son's  state,  and  the  fulfilling  of  the  Scriptures  in  Christ, 
and  by  Christ  the  true  Light,  in  all  that  are  his,  through 
the  obedience  of  faith,  were  much  of  the  substance  and 
drift  of  his  testimonies.  In  all  which  he  was  Avitnessed  to 
be  of  God  ;  being  sensibly  felt  to  speak  that  which  he  had 
received  of  Christ,  and  was  his  own  experience,  in  that 
which  never  errs  nor  fails.  But  above  all,  he  excelled  in 
prayer.  The  inwardness  and  w^eight  of  his  spirit,  the  rev- 
erence and  solemnity  of  his  address  and  behavior,  and  the 
fewness  and  fulness  of  his  words,  have  often  struck  even 


1690.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


283 


strangers  with  admiration,  as  they  used  to  reach  others 
with  consolation.  The  most  awful,  living,  reverent  frame 
I  ever  felt  or  beheld,  I  must  say,  was  his  in  prayer.  And 
truly  it  was  a  testimony  that  he  knew  and  lived  nearer  to 
the  Lord  than  other  men ;  for  they  that  know  Him  most, 
will  see  most  reason  to  approach  him  with  reverence  and 
fear. 

"  He  was  of  an  innocent  life,  no  busybody,  nor  self-seeker, 
neither  touchy  nor  critical.  What  fell  from  him  was  very 
inoffensive,  if  not  very  edifying.  So  meek,  contented,  modest, 
easy,  steady,  tender,  it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  in  his  company. 
He  exercised  no  authority  but  over  evil,  and  that  every- 
where, and  in  all ;  but  with  love,  compassion,  and  long- 
suffering.  A  most  merciful  man,  as  ready  to  forgive,  as 
unapt  to  take  or  give  offence.  Thousands  can  truly  say  he 
was  of  an  excellent  spirit  and  savor  among  them ;  and  be- 
cause thereof,  the  most  excellent  spirits  loved  him  with  an 
unfeigned  and  unfading  love. 

"  He  was  an  incessant  laborer :  for  in  his  younger  time, 
he  labored  much  in  the  word  and  doctrine  and  discipline, 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland ;  —  and  towards  the 
conclusion  of  his  travelling  services,  he  visited  the  churches 
of  Christ  in  America,  in  the  United  Provinces,  and  in 
Germany,  to  the  convincement  and  consolation  of  many. 
And  besides  his  labor  in  the  ministry,  he  wrote  much  — 
but  the  care  he  took  of  the  affairs  of  the  church  in  gen- 
eral, was  very  great.  He  was  often  where  the  records  of 
the  business  of  the  church  are  kept,  and  where  the  letters 
from  the  many  meetings  of  God's  people  over  all  the  world 
used  to  come.  Which  letters  he  had  read  to  him,  and  com- 
municated them  to  the  meeting  weekly  held  for  such  ser- 
vices. And  he  would  be  sure  to  stir  them  up  to  answer 
them,  especially  in  suffering  cases ;  showing  great  sympa- 
thy and  compassion  upon  all  such  occasions,  carefully  look- 
ing into  the  respective  cases,  and  endeavoring  speedy  relief 


284 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


So  that  the  churches  or  any  of  the  suffering  members 
thereof,  were  sure  not  to  be  forgotten  or  delayed  in  their 
desires,  if  he  were  there. 

"  As  he  was  unwearied,  so  he  was  undaunted  in  his  ser- 
vices for  God  and  his  people.  He  was  no  more  to  be  moved 
to  fear  than  to  wrath.  His  behavior  at  Derby,  Litchfield, 
Appleby,  before  Oliver  Cromwell,  at  Launceston,  Scar- 
borough, &c.,  did  abundantly  evidence  it. 

"But  as  in  the  primitive  times,  some  rose  up  against  the 
blessed  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  even  from  among 
those  that  they  had  turned  to  the  hope  of  the  gospel  —  so 
this  man  of  God  had  his  share  of  suffering  from  some  that 
were  convinced  by  him,  who,  through  prejudice  or  mistake, 
ran  against  him,  as  one  that  sought  dominion  over  con- 
science, because  he  pressed  a  ready  and  zealous  compliance 
with  such  good  and  wholesome  things  as  tended  to  an  or- 
derly conversation  about  the  affairs  of  the  church,  and  in 
their  walking  before  men.  That  which  contributed  much 
to  this  ill  work,  was  in  some,  a  grudging  of  this  meek  man 
the  love  and  esteem  he  had  and  deserved  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people ;  and  weakness  in  others,  that  were  taken  Avith 
their  groundless  suggestions  of  imposition  and  blind  obedi- 
ence. In  all  these  occasions,  though  there  was  no  person 
the  discontented  struck  so  sharply  at,  as  this  good  man,  he 
bore  all  their  weakness  and  prejudice,  and  returned  not 
reflection  for  reflection ;  but  forgave  them  their  weak  and 
bitter  speeches,  praying  for  them,  that  they  might  have  a 
sense  of  their  hurt,  and  see  the  subtilty  of  the  enemy  to  rend 
and  divide,  and  return  into  their  first  love  that  thought 
no  ill. 

"  And  truly,  I  thought  God  had  visibly  clothed  him  with 
a  divine  preference  and  authority ;  and  indeed  his  very 
presence  expressed  a  religious  majesty ;  yet  he  never  abused 
it,  but  held  his  place  in  the  church  of  God  with  great 
meekness,  and  a  most  engaging  humility  and  moderation. 


1690.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


285 


For  upon  all  occasions,  like  his  blessed  Master,  he  was  a 
servant  to  all ;  holding  and  exercising  his  eldership  in  the 
invisible  power  that  had  gathered  them,  with  reverence  to 
the  Head  and  care  over  the  body ;  and  was  received  only 
in  that  spirit  and  power  of  Christ,  as  the  first  and  chief 
elder  in  this  age:  who,  as  he  was  therefore  worthy  of 
double  honor,  so  for  the  same  reason  it  was  given  by  the 
faithfid  of  this  day,  because  his  authority  was  inward  and 
not  outward,  and  that  he  got  it  and  kept  it  by  the  love  of 
God,  and  power  of  an  endless  life.  I  write  my  knowledge, 
and  not  report,  and  my  witness  is  true ;  having  been  with 
him  for  weeks  and  months  together  on  divers  occasions,  and 
those  of  the  nearest  and  most  exercising  nature ;  and  that 
by  night  and  by  day,  by  sea  and  by  land ;  in  this  and  in 
foreign  countries ;  and  I  can  say,  I  never  saw  him  out  of 
his  place,  or  not  a  match  for  every  service  or  occasion.  For 
in  all  things  he  acquitted  himself  like  a  man,  yea,  a  strong 
man,  a  new  and  heavenly-minded  man,  a  divine  and  a 
naturalist,  and  all  of  God  Almighty's  making.  I  have 
been  surprised  at  his  questions  and  answers  in  natural 
things :  that  whilst  he  was  ignorant  of  useless  and  sophis- 
tical science,  he  had  in  him  the  grounds  of  useful  and  com- 
mendable knowledge,  and  cherished  it  everywhere :  civil 
beyond  all  forms  of  breeding,  in  his  behavior ;  very  tem- 
perate, eating  little,  and  sleeping  less,  though  a  bulky 
person. 

I  "Thus  he  lived  and  sojourned  among  us.  And  as  he 
lived,  so  he  died ;  feeling  the  same  eternal  power  that  had 
raised  and  preserved  him,  in  his  last  moments.  So  full  of 
assurance  was  he,  that  he  triumphed  over  death ;  and  so 
even  in  his  spirit  to  the  last,  as  if  death  were- hardly  worth 
notice,  or  a  mention.  He  had  the  comfort  of  a  short  ill- 
ness, and  the  blessing  of  a  clear  sense  to  the  last :  and  we 

I  may  truly  say,  with  a  man  of  God  of  old,  that  being  dead, 
he  yet  speaketh  ;  and  though  now  absent  in  body,  he  is  pre- 


286 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1688-90. 


sent  in  spirit :  neither  time  nor  place  being  able  to  inter- 
rupt the  communion  of  saints,  or  dissolve  the  fellowship 
of  the  spirits  of  the  just." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  PERSECUTION  OF  FRIENDS  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WARS  IN 
IRELAND,  IN  THE  REIGN  OF  JAMES  II. 

IN  the  year  1685,  that  faithful  apostle  of  Ireland,  Wil- 
liam Edmundson,  had  seen  with  the  eye  of  faith  that 
a  time  of  great  exercise  and  trials  to  Friends  was  approach- 
ing, when  the  carcasses  of  men  would  even  be  spread  as 
dung  upon  the  earth.  And  being  under  a  weighty  sense 
of  the  need  there  was  for  a  fleeing  unto  "the  Strong  Hold" 
for  safety  and  preservation,  he  faithfully  and  plainly  warned 
Friends  and  others  in  many  public  meetings,  and  often  ad- 
vised them  to  lessen  their  concerns  in  the  world,  so  as  to  be 
ready  to  receive  the  Lord  in  his  judgments  which  were  at 
hand.  These  troubles  came  in  a  few  short  years  thickly 
upon  that  distressed  island,  in  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war. 

The  Earl  of  Tyrconnel,  then  lord  deputy  of  Ireland,  dis- 
armed most  of  the  English,  and  armed  the  native  Irish, 
who  were  chiefly  Papists ;  so  that  the  Protestants  were 
struck  with  fear,  and  many  left  their  habitations  and  prop- 
erty, and  fled  for  England ;  while  others  took  refuge  in 
garrisons  from  the  violence  which  threatened  the  whole 
country.  Friends,  of  course,  felt  restrained  from  thus  trust- 
ing to  the  arm  of  flesh,  and  remained  at  their  homes.  An 
open  war  soon  broke  out,  and  abundance  of  the  Irish  who 
were  not  of  the  army,  but  went  in  bands,  called  Raparees, 


1688;] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


287 


plundered  and  spoiled  many  of  the  English  inhabitants 
and  Protestants,  who  had  remained  in  their  dwellings. 
Many  of  the  array  also,  being  countenanced  by  some  of 
their  officers,  became  very  abusive  and  violent. 

A  party  of  Sir  Maurice  Eustace's  troop  coming  into  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Melick,  went  to  William  Edmund- 
son's  house,  and  seizing  him  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  dragged 
him  about  the  yard  among  their  horses'  feet,  without  any 
further  provocation  than  the  fact  of  his  not  being  a  Papist. 
Some  of  them  with  clubs,  and  others  with  pistols,  swore 
they  would  kill  him ;  which  being  heard  by  his  wife,  she 
came  out  to  them  in  great  alarm,  and  desired  them  to  take 
all  their  property  and  save  the  life  of  her  husband. 

They  then  left  William  and  turned  after  his  wife,  swear- 
ing and  calling  bad  names ;  shot  several  times  at  his  mas- 
tiff dog  which  was  kept  chained,  and  then  rode  off  like 
madmen,  abusing  and  beating  all  the  English  they  met 
with,  and  almost  killing  some.  The  poor  Protestants  be- 
came much  alarmed,  and  many  began  to  hide  themselves 
in  the  woods  and  bogs,  apprehending  a  general  massacre. 

At  the  earnest  request  of  some  of  the  principal  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town,  William  Edmundson,  with  two  others, 
proceeded  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  to  Dublin,  to  lay  before 
the  men  in  power  a  statement  of  the  outrages  which  had 
been  committed  against  the  inhabitants.  Through  the 
friendship  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Xugent,  he  was  admitted 
into  the  presence  of  Tyrconnel,  but  was  only  permitted  to 
speak  of  his  own  wrongs ;  they  would  not  listen  to  any- 
thing else ;  and  it  plainly  appeared  that  their  object  was 
to  frighten  all  the  Protestants  out  of  the  country,  and  take 
possession  of  their  property  and  of  all  power  in  the  island. 
He  afterwards  went  to  several  of  the  officers  of  the  army, 
expostulating  with  them  on  the  violence  of  the  troopers; 
and  was  so  indefatigable  in  his  representations,  that  Tyr- 
connel was  compelled  by  the  attention  publicly  excited  to 


288 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1689. 


the  matter,  reluctantly  to  give  them  a  hearing;  and  on 
examination,  the  parties  concerned  being  fully  identified,  ' 
were  disarmed  and  sent  to  jail. 

Soon  after  his  return  home,  these  troopers  had  leave  from 
the  jailer  and  sheriff  to  come  to  Mount  Melick ;  and  one 
of  them  went  to  William's  house,  to  solicit  his  forgiveness, 
saying  they  would  make  what  satisfaction  he  pleased.  Ac- 
cordingly going  to  the  town,  he  expressed  to  the  soldiers 
his  forgiveness,  and  a  hope  that  what  had  occurred  would 
be  a  warning  to  them  for  the  future,  desiring  them  to  make 
satisfaction  to  others  whom  they  had  similarly  abused. 
They  begged  him  to  write  to  Lord  Nugent,  requesting  their 
pardon,  which  he  did,  succeeded  in  his  solicitation,  and 
gained  their  gratitude  in  place  of  hatred. 

This  year  the  trouble  daily  increased ;  most  of  the  lead- 
ing men  among  the  Protestants  were  gone,  and  those  who 
stayed  were  afraid  of  appealing  to  the  government  for  the 
preservation  of  the  country.  Anarchy  and  destruction 
stalked  abroad,  and  seemed  to  threaten  the  total  ruin  of 
the  sober  inhabitants ;  in  a  sense  of  which  William  Ed- 
mundson,  who  was  well  known  to  several  of  the  chief  men 
of  the  nation,  again  felt  himself  religiously  called  upon  to 
use  his  influence  with  the  rulers  in  behalf  of  the  suffering 
Protestants,  and  in  particular  for  those  of  his  own  Society. 
He  was  often  accordingly  in  Dublin,  pleading  for  the  op- 
pressed, and  using  what  interest  he  had  among  them  for  the 
public  good.  The  Irish  army  being  now  about  to  proceed 
against  the  Protestants  in  arms  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  he 
with  some  other  Friends  in  that  city  earnestly  solicited  the 
principal  officers  to  spare  the  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  treat  them  kindly,  as  they  had  not  taken  up 
arms ;  which  they  promised  to  do,  and  afterwards  fulfilled 
their  engagement. 

The  next  year  (1689)  these  calamities  still  increased. 
The  Raparees  on  one  hand,  plundered  and  spoiled  many  of 


1689.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


289 


the  English  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  army  marching 
and  quartering  took  what  they  pleased  from  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  compelled  the  families  where  they  came  to  set 
before  them  whatever  they  had,  and  wait  upon  them  as 
servants ;  so  that  many  seemed  likely  to  be  deprived  of 
sustenance  for  themselves  and  families.  King  James 
coming  into  Ireland,  AYilliam  Edmundson  several-  times 
went  to  see  him,  and  laid  before  him  the  calamities  to  which 
the  Protestants  were  subjected.  The  king  heard  him  at- 
tentively, but  had  it  not  in  his  power  at  that  time  to  restrain 
the  disorders.  Wickedness  was  let  loose  through  the  country ; 
and  violence  and  cruelty  had  so  much  prevailed  that  most 
of  William's  Protestant  neighbors  had  been  forced  from 
their  homes.  Several  families  took  refuge  in  this  Friend's 
house,  until  every  room  was  full.  Most  of  the  cattle  also 
that  were  left  to  them  they  brought  to  his  land,  thinking 
themselves  and  their  property  safer  there  than  elsewhere ; 
and  his  house  being  thus  crowded  with  refugees,  their 
situation  brought  great  concern  upon  him,  as  they  were  in 
continual  danger  of  losing  not  only  their  property,  but 
also  their  lives,  at  the  hands  of  exasperated  bands  of  ruf- 
fians and  bigots. 

At  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  the  Irish  army  being  beaten, 
many  of  them  fled  in  the  direction  of  Mount  Melick,  plun- 
dering wherever  they  came.  They  plundered  William 
Edmundson's  house  several  times  over ;  and  so  violent  were 
they,  that  the  family  were  compelled  to  go  out  of  the  way. 
William's  wife,  preferring  to  venture  her  own  life  to  save 
that  of  her  husband,  desired  him  to  secrete  himself,  lest  he 
should  be  killed ;  but  he  could  not  do  it,  trusting  in  the 
Lord's  protecting  arm ;  whose  secret  hand  restrained  these 
murderers,  and  preserved  the  lives  of  his  confiding  servants. 
All  his  horses  were  taken  away,  and  Avhatever  else  they 
could  find  that  suited  their  rapacious  wills. 

The  next  year  (1690),  notwithstanding  a  proclamation 


290 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


from  King  William,  (who  had  supplanted  James  II.,)  that 
such  of  the  Irish  as  would  remain  quietly  at  home  should 
not  be  molested,  the  same  disorders  continued.  The  Prot- 
estants who  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  William 
Edmundson's  residence,  fled  into  the  parish  worship-house 
at  Rossenallis  for  safety ;  but  after  a  while  the  British 
army  gaining  the  ascendancy,  a  party  of  three  hundred 
Protestant  soldiers  came  and  drove  away  about  five  hun- 
dred head  of  cattle  and  horses,  taking  also  many  prisoners. 
William  Edmundson  hearing  that  one  of  the  prisoners  was 
about  to  be  hung,  on  empty  susj)icion  of  his  being  a  Raparee, 
he  took  horse  and  rode  swiftly  after  the  soldiers,  to  endeavor 
to  prevail  on  them  to  relinquish  their  purpose.  After 
riding  four  miles,  followed  by  many  of  his  Irish  neighbors 
in  expectation  of  getting  their  cattle  and  people  released, 
he  came  wp  with  the  soldiers ;  and  the  two  captains  per- 
ceiving who  it  was,  made  a  halt  and  met  him.  He  rea- 
soned with  them,  and  reminded  them  of  the  king's  procla- 
mation, and  at  length  persuaded  them  to  promise  a  release, 
if  the  soldiers  could  be  prevailed  on.  He  then  rode  with 
the  captains  to  the  head  of  the  party ;  but  they  were  very 
angry,  and  seemed  ready  to  kill  the  Irish  who  followed  for 
their  cattle.  Whereupon  he  quitted  his  horse,  and  ven- 
tured with  his  life  in  his  hand  among  the  rude  soldiers,  to 
save  these  poor  people,  and  at  length,  with  much  ado,  and 
the  captain's  assistance,  he  prevailed  with  them  to  release 
the  greatest  part  of  the  booty.  He  then  remounted  his 
horse,  and  sought  out  the  man  whom  they  had  stripped  for 
hanging.  Having  found  him,  he  threw  him  his  riding- 
coat  to  wrap  around  his  almost  naked  body,  and  then  hunt- 
ing out  the  person  who  had  possession  of  his  clothing,  he 
reasoned  with  the  men  and  officers  on  the  unmanly  action 
of  stripping  a  man  thus,  telling  them  he  had  been  a  soldier 
himself,  and  would  have  scorned  so  base  an  act.  By  much 
persuasion  he  at  length  prevailed,  so  that  the  soldier  had 


1690.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


291 


to  put  oft'  the  man's  clotlies  and  restore  them  to  him ;  and 
this  poor  man  and  some  others  of  the  prisoners  were  re- 
leased, with  all  their  cattle. 

On  several  occasions,  when  the  English  soldiers  took 
away  the  cattle  of  the  Irish,  William  Edmiindson  per- 
suaded them  to  restore  them,  or  bought  them  off  for  a  small 
sum  of  his  own  money,  to  give  them  back  to  the  owners ; 
and  he  let  them  pasture  their  horses  on  his  own  land,  to 
save  them  from  the  plunderers. 

Towards  the  latter  part  of  this  year,  the  English  army 
having  gone  into  winter-quarters,  the  Irish  were  more  at 
liberty,  and  the  Raparees  increased.  They  burned  many 
excellent  houses,  and  some  towns,  and  killed  several  of  the 
Protestants ;  but  through  the  wonderful  mercies  of  God, 
Friends  were  enabled  to  hold  their  meetings  regularly, 
though  many  times  in  danger  of  their  lives  in  travelling  to 
and  from  them,  ^vot  more  than  four  Friends  were  known 
to  have  lost  their  lives  by  violence  during  all  this  wide- 
spread calamity. 

In  the  Kinth  month  (old  style)  William  Edmundson  at- 
tended as  usual  the  Half-year's  National  Meeting  at  Dub- 
lin, where  a  spirit  of  thankful  rejoicing  prevailed  among 
Friends,  in  having  been  preserved  through  so  many  dan- 
gel's  to  meet  each  other  once  more.  During  the  meeting, 
tidings  were  brought  to  William  Edmundson,  that  the  Rap- 
arees had  taken  about  twenty  of  his  cows,  but  that  none  of 
his  family  were  hurt.  When  the  service  of  that  meeting 
was  over,  he  returned  home,  and  found  his  wife  and  family 
well ;  but  spoil  and  cruelty  increased,  and  imminent  dan- 
gers seemed  to  hover  over  them.  Yet  he  dared  not  to  re- 
move, considering  that  his  example  was  much  looked  at, 
and  that  his  removal  would  discourage  not  only  Friends, 
but  the  English  neighbors  around,  who  thought  they  were 
safer  for  his  remaining  in  his  place.  And  he  also  believed 
that  one  hair  of  his  head  should  not  fall  without  God's 
providence. 


292 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


On  the  23d  of  the  month,  he  went  to  Colonel  Biarly,  then 
governor  of  Mount  Melick,  and  told  him  of  the  danger  to 
which  they  were  exposed,  expecting  every  night  to  have  his 
house  burnt  down ;  but  this  man  took  little  notice  of  it ; 
and  that  same  night,  while  William  and  his  family  were 
asleep,  some  hundreds  of  Raparees  beset  his  house,  firing 
several  shots  in  at  the  windows.  The  noise  was  heard  at 
Mount  Melick,  two  miles  distant,  and  several  went  to  the 
governor  to  request  a  party  of  men  to  render  him  succor ; 
yet  he  not  only  refused  to  grant  it,  but  when  a  certain  lieu- 
tenant voluntarily  offered  to  relieve  him  or  lose  his  own 
life,  he  even  threatened  to  hang  any  man  that  would  leave 
the  garrison.  So  the  Raparees  set  fire  to  his  house,  William 
Edmundson  remaining  in  it  until  much  of  it  was  de- 
stroyed. When  the  fire  would  not  permit  them  to  stay 
longer,  he  made  conditions  with  these  lawless  people,  and 
opening  the  doors,  went  out.  But  they  soon  broke  their 
engagements,  though  bound  by  many  oaths,  and  took  what 
plunder  they  could  get  from  the  fire,  which  however  had 
destroyed  the  greatest  part.  One  mare  was  burnt  to  death 
in  the  stable,  and  two  more  were  rescued  from  the  flames, 
exceedingly  scorched.  All  his  cattle  they  took  as  booty, 
leaving  not  a  single  one.  They  took  away  his  wife's  upper 
garment,  and  so  left  her ;  but  William  and  his  two  sons 
they  took  prisoners,  bare-legged  and  bare-headed,  and  not 
much  better  than  naked.  One  of  them  lent  him  however, 
at  his  request,  an  old  blanket  of  his  own,  to  wrap  about 
him,  the  weather  being  cold ;  and  that  night  they  dragged 
him  and  his  sons  through  rough  places,  bushes,  mire,  and 
water  to  the  knees,  whereby  their  bare  feet  and  legs  were 
sorely  hurt  and  bruised  with  the  bushes,  gravel,  and  stones. 
The  next  morning  they  took  them  into  the  woods,  and 
holding  a  consultation  over  them,  concluded  to  shoot  Wil- 
liam, and  to  hang  his  two  sons.  He  expostulated  with 
them  on  the  injustice  of  their  conduct,  appealing  to  many 


1690.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


293 


that  knew  him  and  his  family,  challenging  them  all  to 
prove  that  either  he  or  his  sons  had  wronged  any  of  their 
country  -  people  in  the  smallest  matter  during  all  these 
troubles,  and  on  the  contrary  reminding  them  that  he  had 
done  what  he  could  to  protect  them,  sometimes  with  the 
hazard  of  his  life,  among  the  English  soldiers.  Several  of 
them  acknowledging  that  they  kncAv  he  was  an  honest  man, 
he  told  them  that  if  he  died  they  were  his  witnesses  that 
he  was  innocent,  and  God  would  avenge  his  blood.  They 
proceeded,  nevertheless,  in  their  murderous  preparations, 
blindfolding  his  sons  to  hang  them  ;  and  having  prepared 
two  fire-locks  to  shoot  William,  they  came  to  blindfold  him 
also.  But  he  calmly  told  them  they  need  not  do  that,  for 
he  could  look  them  in  the  face,  and  was  not  afraid  to  die. 

At  this  juncture  there  came  up  one  Lieutenant  Richard 
Dunn,  whose  father  William  Edraundson  had  got  released, 
together  with  his  cattle,  from  the  English  soldiers,  and 
whose  brother  was  the  man  whom  William  had  so  remark- 
ably saved  from  death  and  got  released  when  he  was 
stripped  to  be  hanged.  This  Lieutenant  Dunn,  expecting 
to  obtain  preferment,  determined  to  carry  the  prisoners  to 
Athlone,  which  was  twenty  miles  distant ;  and  so  the  Al- 
mighty defeated  their  intention  of  taking  the  lives  of  those 
innocent  men.  Dunn  taking  possession  of  them,  kept  them 
three  nights  at  a  cabin  on  the  way,  cold  and  without  food, 
so  that  even  their  persecutors  wondered  how  they  endured 
it.  William  told  them,  that  they  had  taken  or  destroved 
his  provisions,  and  the  Lord  had  fitted  him  for  the  priva- 
tion by  taking  away  his  appetite. 

As  they  went  through  Raghan,  there  came  out  of  a  cabin 
an  ancient  Irishman,  who  looked  on  William  with  a  sor- 
rowful countenance.  William  asked  him  if  he  could  give 
him  a  piece  of  Ijread,  knowing  his  sons  were  very  hungry. 
The  man  replied  that  he  would  give  him  some  bread,  if  he 
had  to  buy  it  with  gold,  for  he  did  not  believe  William  was 


294 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


one  that  was  accustomed  to  beg  his  bread.  So  he  went  into 
the  cabin,  and  brought  a  piece  of  extremely  coarse  bread, 
expressing  regret  that  he  had  nothing  else  to  offer  him  ;  on 
which  William,  telling  him  that  it  was  very  acceptable, 
gave  it  to  his  sons.  That  night  they  got  straw  to  lodge  on, 
and  consequently  rested  well ;  and  the  next  day  they  came 
to  Athlone.  On  their  entrance  into  the  main  street  of  the 
town,  they  were  saluted  by  a  mob,  encouraged  by  the  high 
sheriff  of  the  county,  with  the  epithets  of  traitors,  rebels, 
&c. ;  and  scarcely  escaped  injury.  They  were  taken  to  the 
main  guard,  and  afterwards  to  the  castle,  before  the  gov- 
ernor and  chief  officers.  William  Edmundson  coming  in, 
wrapped  in  the  old  blanket,  the  governor  asked  him  where 
he  lived,  and  what  was  his  name ;  to  which  replying  that 
he  was  old  William  Edmundson,  the  governor  stood  up, 
and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  said  he  was  sorry  to  see  him 
in  that  condition,  for  he  knew  him  well,  having  been  some- 
times at  his  house ;  and  the  lieutenant  who  brought  them 
there  accusing  them  of  things  which  he  could  not  prove, 
the  governor  placed  William  and  his  fellow-prisoners  in 
charge  of  another  officer,  and  sent  them  some  refreshment. 
But  having  nothing  to  lie  upon  but  the  bare  floor,  without 
even  straw  to  cover  it  with,  and  the  weather  being  very 
severe,  and  they  very  destitute  of  clothing,  William  would 
probably  have  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  hardships  he  en- 
dured, but  for  the  succor  providentially  afforded  by  that 
Divine  Hand  who  never  yet  forgot  the  wrestling  seed  of 
Jacob  in  their  time  of  need. 

A  Friend  named  John  Clibborn,  residing  about  six 
miles  from  the  town,  who  liad  himself  been  so  sorely  plun- 
dered that  he  had  but  little  clothing  left,  hearing  of  Wil- 
liam's confinement,  was  moved  to  visit  him.  When  he  saw 
this  venerable  man  in  that  distressed  condition,  he  wrung 
his  hands  with  sympathetic  emotion,  crying  out  that  they 
had  taken  prisoner  as  honest  a  man  as  trod  on  the  earth. 


1690.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


295 


The  next  day  he  brought  them  some  food ;  but  still  they 
could  get  no  straw  to  lie  upon ;  and  AVilliam  was  much 
spent,  and  so  grieved  with  the  profanity  of  this  wicked 
crew,  that  he  desired  rather  to  die  quietly  in  a  dungeon, 
than  to  continue  among  them.  John  Clibborn  wrote  to  the 
governor  to  desire  that  he  would  either  bring  William  to  a 
fair  trial,  or  suffer  him  to  be  removed  into  the  dungeon. 
The  governor,  however,  still  expressed  his  sorrow,  that  so 
honest  a  man  as  he  believed  him  to  be,  should  be  so  op- 
pressed ;  but  he  dared  not  release  him,  for  there  were  many 
eyes  over  him,  and  yet  he  could  not  find  in  his  heart  to 
commit  him  to  the  dungeon.  But  John  Clibborn  perse- 
vering in  his  efforts  for  the  relief  of  his  friend,  offered  to  be 
answerable  by  all  that  he  possessed,  for  William's  appear- 
ance, if  he  might  be  allowed  to  take  him  with  him  to  his 
house ;  to  which  at  length  the  governor  assenting,  the  pris- 
oners gladly  changed  their  quarters  for  the  house  of  their 
friend. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Twelfth,  or  as  it  was  then  called 
the  Tenth  month,  William  Edmuudson's  wife  ventured  to 
the  ruins  of  their  late  abode,  with  a  number  of  horses,  and 
some  English  neighbors,  in  order  to  bring  off  a  stock  of 
hides  and  leather  from  the  tan-yard,  which  had  escaped 
destruction  when  the  house  was  burnt.  Whilst  they  were 
loading  the  leather,  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  Rapa- 
rees,  who  carried  off  the  property  and  compelled  them  to 
run  for  their  lives.  But  William's  wife  being  ancient,  and 
not  able  to  escape,  they  overtook  her,  and  stripping  her 
entirelv  of  clothing,  left  her  in  that  cold  time  of  the  year 
under  the  necessity  of  going  two  miles  naked ;  from  which 
exposure  she  was  taken  ill,  and  never  recovering  her  health, 
died  in  a  few  mouths  afterwards.  These  Raparees  threat- 
ened to  burn  the  town  of  Blount  Melick,  but  the  next  day 
they  were  attacked  by  the  English  soldiers,  their  two  lead- 
ci  s  were  killed,  and  their  .wicked  project  was  frustrated. 


29(3 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690. 


During  William  Edmiindson's  stay  at  John  Clibborn's, 
many  of  the  Irish  came  daily  to  get  what  they  could ;  and 
a  Colonel  Bourk  also  came  with  about  three  hundred  men, 
to  intercept  the  English.  This  man  shoAved  kindness  to 
William,  and  soon  going  to  Athlone,  procured  his  discharge 
from  the  governor.  But  there  were  still  those  abroad  who 
had  evil  designs  against  this  upright  man,  and  who  scrupled 
not  the  most  wicked  means  to  put  them  in  execution.  Soon 
after  his  return  to  Mount  Melick,  he  narrowly  escaped  an 
ambush,  laid  for  the  purpose  of  taking  his  life.  Eight  or 
nine  Raparees  secreted  themselves  about  the  road  from  that 
place  to  Rossenallis,  near  which  place  were  the  ruins  of  his 
former  habitation,  and  procured  some  to  endeavor  to  per- 
suade him  to  go  to  Rossenallis,  under  various  pretexts.  He 
was  however  restrained  by  an  unseen  hand,  from  yielding 
to  their  importunities ;  and  the  next  morning,  three  other 
persons  passing  by  the  ^^lace  of  ambush,  were  shot  at,  one 
of  them  being  killed  on  the  spot,  and  the  others  dragged 
into  the  woods  and  barbarously  murdered.  Thus  the  Lord 
preserved  his  servant  out  of  the  hands  of  cruel  and  blood- 
thirsty men.  The  Irish  Papists,  that  night,  generally  joined 
the  Raparees;  as  indeed  it  would  appear  that  from  the 
first  they  had  been  the  instigators  of  the  insurrection.  The 
English  troops  however  began  now  gradually  to  suppress 
them,  and  the  roads  became  safer  for  travellers.  William 
Edmundson  went  into  the  north  with  some  other  Friends, 
on  a  religious  visit  to  their  fellow-members  in  that  section ; 
and  during  his  journey,  he  observed  where  the  hostile 
armies  had  been  engaged  in  the  work  of  mutual  destruc- 
tion, that  many  bones  appeared  on  the  ground,  and  tufts 
of  rank  grass  had  grown  from  the  carcasses  of  men,  as  if  it 
had  been  from  heaps  of  manure  ;  so  that  he  w^as  led  to  re- 
mind Friends  of  what  he  had  some  years  before  publicly 
and  prophetically  declared,  "that  the  Lord  would  spread 
the  carcasses  of  men  as  dung  upon  the  face  of  the  earth ; " 
which  was  now  literally  fulfilled. 


1690.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


297 


The  above-mentioned  John  Clibborn  was  one  who,  though 
at  one  time  strongly  prejudiced  against  the  Society  of 
Friends,  had  joined  this  despised  people,  from  a  settled  con- 
viction of  duty,  and  became  a  serviceable  member  thereof. 
He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Durham,  England,  in  1623, 
and  when  about  twenty-six  years  of  age,  went  into  Ireland  as 
a  soldier  in  the  army  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Here  he  married, 
and  settled  at  Moate-a-Grenoge.  The  people  called  Quakers 
established  a  meeting  on  part  of  his  property.  He  was  much 
displeased  at  this ;  and  looking  on  them,  in  the  pride  and 
ignorance  of  his  heart,  with  aversion  and  contempt,  he  deter- 
mined to  burn  down  their  meeting-house,  and  thus  to  clear 
them  from  his  premises.  Accordingly,  he  provided  himself 
with  fire,  and  went  thither  at  a  time  when  he  supposed  there 
would  be  no  one  in  the  meeting-house :  but  to  his  surprise, 
he  found  the  Friends  assembled  in  solemn  worship,  and 
one  of  them,  named  Thomas  Loe,  was  preaching.  Being 
suddenly  impressed  with  new  and  strange  emotions,  he  put 
away  the  fire,  Avent  in,  sat  down  behind  the  door,  and  was 
sensibly  touched  by  the  solemn  covering  over  the  assembly, 
and  the  power  which  accompanied  the  words  spoken.  On 
his  return  home,  his  wife  asking  him  if  he  had  burned  the 
Quakers'  meeting-house,  he  told  her,  "No;"  and  even  pro- 
posed her  accompanying  him  thither  the  next  First-day. 
They  both  accordingly  went,  and  Thomas  Loe  again 
preached.  John  Clibborn,  and  his  wife,  both  received  the 
truth  of  his  doctrine  into  their  hearts,  and  eventually  be- 
came members  of  that  Society  which  had  been  the  object 
of  such  displeasure  and  dislike.  This  was  about  the  year 
1658.  John,  some  time  afterwards,  attended  a  General 
Meeting  in  the  above-mentioned  meeting-house,  and  per- 
ceiving it  inconveniently  crowded,  promised  Friends  that 
they  should  have  a  larger  house  the  next  time ;  and  accord- 
ingly built  a  meeting-house  at  his  own  expense,  which,  with 
a  burial-place  adjoining,  he  bequeathed  to  Friends  forever. 


298 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1690.  " 


John  Clibborii's  situation  in  the  time  of  the  civil  wars 
was  peculiarly  perilous ;  being,  as  we  have  seen,  only  a  few 
miles  from  Athlone,  where  the  Irish  army  had  established 
one  of  their  principal  garrisons,  whence  they  issued  in  par- 
ties to  distress  and  plunder  the  country.  John  and  his 
friends  continued  at  great  hazard,  to  keep  up  the  religious 
meetings  at  his  house ;  and  here  he  remained  for  some 
time,  affording  succor  and  hospitable  assistance  to  many  in 
distress,  and  endued  with  the  patience  and  courage  of  the 
Christian.  But  at  length  his  own  day  of  suffering  arrived. 
His  house  was  beset  in  the  night  by  a  party  of  violent  men, 
who  dragged  him  by  the  hair  of  his  head  from  that  home 
which  had  so  often  afforded  an  asylum  to  the  distressed,  but 
which  was  now  devoted  to  plunder  and  the  flames.  His 
life  was  attempted  three  times,  by  those  bloodthirsty  men, 
who  at  length,  desperate  in  their  wickedness,  laid  his  head 
on  a  block,  and  raising  the  hatchet,  prepared  to  strike  the 
fatal  blow.  He  requested  a  little  time.  His  request  was 
granted.  The  pious  man  kneeled  down,  and  in  the  words 
of  the  martyr  Stephen,  prayed  that  this  sin  might  not  be 
laid  to  their  charge.  "With  the  prospect  of  a  better  world 
before  him,  he  prayed  not  for  his  own  life.  Just  then 
another  party  arrived,  and  inquiring,  "Who  have  you  got 
there?"  were  answered,  "Clibborn." — "Clibborn!"  re- 
echoed they,  "  a  hair  of  his  head  shall  not  be  touched ! " 
He  was  then  set  at  liberty,  and  having  been  stripped  almost 
naked,  he  wrapped  a  blanket  about  him,  and  presenting 
himself  before  the  commanding  officer  at  Athlone,  informed 
him  of  the  treatment  he  had  met  with.  The  officer  desired 
John  to  point  out  the  men  who  had  committed  this  outrage, 
"and  they  should  be  hanged  before  his  hall-door."  But 
this  the  benevolent  sufferer  refused  to  do ;  declaring  that, 
owing  them  no  ill-will,  he  desired  not  to  do  them  the  small- 
est injury ;  and  that  all  he  wanted  was,  that  his  neighbors 
and  himself  might  be  allowed  to  live  unmolested. 


1691.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


299 


Many  other  instances  of  unprovoked  and  patient  suffer- 
ing occurred  during  this  calamitous  period ;  but  those 
which  we  have  detailed,  may  be  sufficient  to  show  the  fidel- 
ity with  which  Friends  adhered  to  their  principles,  and  the 
divine  protection  which  rewarded  their  faithfulness. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

ACCOUNT  OF  THOMAS  STORY's  CONVINCEMENT 

IX  the  year  1691,  Thomas  Story,  a  native  of  Cumbei 
land,  joined  the  Society  of  Friends,  from  immediate 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  their  principles,  and  not  from 
the  outward  ministry  of  any  instruments.  He  had  had 
the  advantage  of  a  liberal  education,  as  his  father  had  de- 
signed him  for  the  practice  of  the  law.  Having  an  early 
inclination  to  solitude  and  religious  thoughtfulness,  he  de- 
lighted in  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  spent  many 
hours  in  their  perusal.  He  was,  however,  in  accordance 
with  the  usual  routine  of  a  genteel  education  in  that  day, 
set  to  learn  fencing  and  music ;  by  which  he  found  his 
mind  drawn  away  from  serious  considerations,  and  habits 
and  associations  contracted,  which  were  unfavorable  to 
religion. 

He  was  next  placed  with  a  counsellor  in  the  country,  to 
commence  his  studies  of  law,  preparatory  to  entering  one 
of  the  inns  of  court ;  and  being  situated  in  a  sober  and  re- 
ligious family,  of  the  most  moderate  sort  of  Presbyterians, 
he  had  again  the  advantage  of  solitude,  and  little  exposure 
to  company  ;  so  that  he  recovered  in  some  degree  his  for- 
mer seriousness.    And  thouirh  lie  indulged  liimself  at  times 


300 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1691. 


ill  some  youthful  airs,  yet  through  divine  grace  he  was  pre- 
served from  gross  evils,  and  his  agreeable  manners  gained 
him  respect  with  all  the  family. 

He  had  been  educated  among  the  Episcopalians ;  but 
his  mind  being  intent  on  investigating  truth,  he  was  enabled 
to  perceive  that  some  of  their  practices  were  relics  of  super- 
stition, and  in  no  way  conducive  to  the  advancement  of 
pure  religion.  For  when  the  family  moved  from  the  coun- 
try into  Carlisle,  and  he  had  frequent  opportunity  of  at- 
tending the  public  worship,  especially  in  the  cathedral,  the 
congregation  turning  their  faces  towards  the  east  at  the 
repetition  of  the  apostles'  creed,  and  at  the  mention  of  the 
word  Jesus  bowing  and  kneeling  toward  the  altar-table, 
surmounted  as  it  was  with  the  letters  I.H.S.*  painted  on 
the  wall ;  these  forms  gave  him  uneasiness,  as  they  appeared 
to  him  to  be  relics  of  Popery ;  and  although  he  continued 
to  go  thither  for  a  while,  yet  he  could  not  comply  with 
several  of  the  ceremonies  in  use.  Afterwards,  being  in- 
vited to  the  christening  (as  it  was  called)  of  a  relation's 
child,  his  mind  was  renewedly  offended  at  the  ceremony  of 
baptizing  the  infant  with  water,  as  he  apprehended  that 
we  have  neither  precept  nor  example  in  Scripture  for  that 
practice,  and  saw  the  impropriety  of  placing  any  reliance 
thereon,  as  producing  regeneration. 

Being  attentive  to  the  reproofs  of  instruction  felt  in  the 
secret  of  his  soul,  he  experienced  them  to  be  a  law  con- 
demning those  thoughts,  expressions,  passions,  and  affec- 
tions, which  belong  to  the  first  nature,  and  are  rooted  in 
the  carnal  mind.  The  spiritual  Avarfare  was  begun,  which 
was  to  bring  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience 
of  Christ ;  and  in  which  the  spirit  of  judgment  and  of 
burning  was  to  pass  upon  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of 
the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life.    The  elegant  airs  of  a  well- 

*  The  initials  of  the  words,  -'Jesus  Ilominurn  Salvaior,"  Jesus,  the 
Saviour  of  Men. 


1691.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


301 


bred  youth,  his  strength,  activity,  and  comeliness  of  person  ; 
his  mental  endowments,  and  competent  acquisition  of  lit- 
erary knowledge ;  and  even  the  glory,  preferments,  and 
friendships  of  the  world,  which  were  beginning  to  fawn  upon 
him,  were  all  to  be  given  up,  and  thrown  as  it  were,"  to  the 
moles  and  to  the  bats,"  that  the  Lord  alone  might  be  exalted 
in  his  renewed  and  quickened  soul.  And  as  he  followed  on  to 
know  the  Lord,  he  was  favored  from  time  to  time  with  deeper 
and  clearer  manifestations  of  the  purity  of  true  religion. 
To  his  spiritual  eye  it  was  discovered,  that  the  Son  of  God 
was  not  yet  effectually  revealed  in  him,  nor  "the  old  man" 
sufficiently  crucified  and  slain  by  the  power  of  the  cross. 
This  sense  increased  his  inward  inquiry  after  essential 
truth,  and  his  attention  to  the  monitor  in  his  own  breast 
for  instruction ;  as  he  did  not  know  of  any  in  all  the  world 
to  teach  him,  or  that  the  Lord  had  any  people  then  on 
earth,  owned  by  His  presence  with  them,  as  his  flock  and 
family. 

After  a  season  of  deep  humiliation,  being  strengthened 
to  resign  himself  to  the  divine  will,  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness arose  in  his  soul  with  healing  and  restoring  virtue ; 
whereby  the  carnal  mind,  with  all  that  belonged  to  it,  self- 
love,  pride,  evil  thoughts  and  desires,  with  the  whole  cor- 
ruption of  the  first  nature,  were  wounded  and  slain ;  and 
his  mind  became  like  that  of  a  little  child,  serene  and  free 
from  anxiety.  A  great  alteration  was  perceived  in  him ; 
but  the  cause  was  unknown  to  his  friends.  He  put  off  his 
usual  airs,  his  jovial  conduct  and  address ;  laid  aside  his 
sword,  which  at  that  time  it  was  the  fashion  to  wear ;  burnt 
his  musical  instruments;  and  divesting  himself  of  the  su- 
perfluous part  of  his  apparel,  confined  himself  to  what  was 
decent,  plain,  and  useful.  He  declined  the  public  worship, 
though  not  with  any  design  to  join  any  other  society ;  for 
he  knew  not  but  that  these  inward  manifestations  were  pe- 
culiar to  himself,  and  was  not  acquainted  with  any  people 
26 


802 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1691. 


Avitli  whom  he  could  unite.  At  one  time  indeed,  beginning 
to  fear  lest  it  might  be  his  own  fault,  that  he  did  not  enjoy 
the  Lord's  presence  among  the  people  with  whom  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  worship,  he  determined  once  more  to 
make  the  trial ;  and  accordingly  he  w^ent  to  one  of  the 
Episcopal  meeting-houses  in  Carlisle,  and  endeavored  to 
retire  mentally,  and  feel  after  the  divine  presence.  But  he 
found  himself  so  enveloped  in  darkness  and  distress,  that 
it  was  only  from  regard  to  decency,  that  he  could  prevail 
with  himself  to  remain  till  the  worship  was  ended.  He 
returned  to  his  chamber  in  trouble,  and  went  no  more 
among  them.  Although,  however,  he  now  declined  all 
merely  outward  worship,  determining  to  follow  the  Lord 
whithersoever  He  might  see  good  to  lead  him  ;  yet  he  found 
his  mind  clothed  with  universal  charity  and  benevolence  to 
all  mankind. 

Continuing  to  seek  after  God  in  silence  and  solitude,  he 
advanced  in  religious  experience,  and  his  peace  and  con- 
solation increased.  At  a  certain  time,  to  his  surprise,  the 
people  called  Quakers  were  suddenly  brought  before  his 
mind  during  his  solitary  meditations,  in  so  impressive  a 
manner,  as  to  induce  a  secret  inclination  to  inquire  after 
them,  their  principles,  and  their  manner  of  worship. 

In  the  Fifth  month  of  this  year,  1691,  an  opportunity 
presented.  Meeting  with  a  member  of  this  Society,  he 
perceived,  on  inquiry,  no  material  difference  between  their 
sentiments  and  his  own ;  and  being  invited  by  the  Friend 
to  accompany  him  the  next  day  to  their  meeting  at  Brough- 
ton,  he  willingly  complied.  The  meeting  was  fully  gathered 
when  they  arrived ;  and  he  sat  down  among  the  crowd  of 
people,  in  inward  retirement.  Though  one  of  their  minis- 
ters began  to  speak,  yet  his  attention  was  particularly 
turned  to  what  passed  in  his  own  mind,  desiring  to  under- 
stand whether  the  Most  High  OAvned  them  with  his  presence 
in  their  religious  assemblies;  and  he  soon  received  a  cou- 


1691.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


303 


vincing  evidence  of  what  he  desired  to  know.  For  not- 
long  after  he  sat  down  among  them,  the  same  divine  power 
with  which  he  had  of  late  been  favored  in  his  private 
meditations,  overshadowed  his  mind  with  abundant  conso- 
lation. And  as  he  had  been  distressed  with  the  prevailing 
formality  of  religious  professors,  who  generally  contented 
themselves  in  that  kind  of  religion  which  was  merely  the 
effect  of  education  or  tradition ;  he  now  perceived  on  the 
other  hand,  and  was  convinced  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the 
divine  presence  and  holy  influence  of  Truth  attended  the 
greater  part  of  that  meeting,  and  that  under  the  shadow 
of  the  wing  of  divine  power  and  love  they  sat  with  great 
delight.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  rejoice  with  them,  in 
the  view  of  reformation  so  far  advanced  in  the  earth : 
though  not  long  before  this,  he  had  thought  there  was 
scarcely  any  true  and  living  faith,  or  knowledge  of  God  in 
the  world. 

From  this  time  he  continued  to  attend  their  meetings ; 
and  becoming  more  intimately  acquainted  with  them,  he 
felt  the  bonds  of  near  unity  with  them  strengthened,  and 
was  not  ashamed  openly  to  acknowledge  himself  a  member 
of  this  despised  Society,  on  the  following  occasion. 

At  the  time  of  the  assizes  at  Carlisle,  an  acquaintance 
applied  to  him,  in  regard  to  a  suit  he  had  to  come  on  the 
next  day,  involving  the  greater  part  of  his  property ;  and 
Thomas  being  the  only  witness  for  the  deeds  of  convey- 
ance, whom  he  could  at  present  procure,  he  desired  him 
not  to  fail  giving  his  attendance  at  the  court  early  the 
next  morning.  Thomas,  in  answer  to  this  request,  said  to 
the  man,  for  whom  he  had  a  friendly  regard,  and  saw  that 
his  case  was  a  hard  one :  "  I  am  concerned  it  should  fall 
out  so ;  but  I  will  appear,  if  it  please  God,  and  testify 
what  I  know  in  the  matter,  and  do  what  I  can  for  you  in 
that  way ;  but  I  cannot  swear."  At  this  answer,  the  man, 
in  a  passion,  replied  with  an  oath  :  "What!  you  are  not  a 


304 


HTSTORTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1691. 


Quaker,  sure?"  As  Thomas  had  hitherto  neither  received 
from  others,  nor  assumed  for  himself  this  appellation,  nor 
indeed  as  yet  had  seen  whether  he  had  so  much  unity  with 
all  their  tenets  as  to  justify  him  in  adopting  the  name,  he 
continued  silent  for  a  while,  and  attentive  to  the  Spirit  of 
Truth  in  his  own  mind,  till  clear  in  his  understanding  what 
reply  to  make ;  and  then  he  said,  "  I  must  confess  the 
truth — I  am  a  Quaker." 

This  plain  confession  increased  his  own  peace,  but  his  ac- 
quaintance's perplexity  and  vexation,  whose  case  appeared 
to  himself  thereby  rendered  desperate ;  so  that  in  the  height 
of  his  anger,  he  threatened  to  have  Thomas  fined  and  pro- 
ceeded against  with  the  utmost  rigor,  exclaiming,  "  What ! 
must  I  lose  my  estate  for  your  groundless  notions  and 
whims?"  Thomas  was  not  free  from  anxiety  in  conse- 
quence of  this  threat,  under  the  prospect  of  probable  fine 
and  imprisonment;  but  after  some  time  of  silent  medita- 
tion, he  felt  strength  to  resign  himself  to  the  divine  dis- 
posal, and  therein  found  his  anxiety  vanish,  and  his  mind 
centre  in  serenity.  The  next  morning,  as  he  was  going  to 
the  court-house  to  give  his  testimony,  his  acquaintance  met 
him  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  in  a  very  different 
disposition  from  the  night  before,  and  informed  him  that 
his  adversary  had  yielded  the  cause,  and  they  were  agreed, 
to  his  satisfaction. 

He  continued  diligently  to  attend  the  meetings  of  this 
people ;  where,  in  silent  worship,  his  heart  was  frequently 
tendered  and  broken,  and  at  times,  likewise,  under  a  pow- 
erful living  ministry.  Some  years  after  he  had  joined 
Friends,  he  himself  received  a  gift  in  the  ministry ;  and  he 
devoted  much  of  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  travelling  in 
the  service  of  the  gospel,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
Few  of  his  contemporaries  were  more  diligent,  or  more  es- 
teemed for  their  gospel  labors ;  and  the  meetings  which  he 
visited  were  frequently  attended  by  a  numerous  concourse 
of  people  of  otiier  professions. 


1692.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


305 


He  gave  up  his  profession  as  an  attorney,  perceiving  that 
the  practice  of  the  law,  and  being  continually  mixed  up  in 
the  frequent  suits  and  contests  of  worldly  men,  would  dis- 
turb the  peace  and  serenity  of  his  mind,  expose  him  to 
many  temptations,  and  probably  be  the  means  of  prevent- 
ing his  advancement  in  religious  experience,  and  present  an 
obstruction  to  the  fulfilling  of  his  religious  duties. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  LABOKS  OF  JOSEPH  PIKE  AND  OTHERS  IN  IRELAND, 
FOR  A  REFORMATION  FROM  THE  SPIRIT  AND  HABITS 
OF  THE  WORLD. 

THE  well  known  testimony  of  the  Society  of  Friends  to 
Christian  simplicity,  arose  not  from  any  desire  for  sin- 
gularity or  distinction  from  the  rest  of  mankind ;  but  was 
the  necessary  result  of  a  clear  view  of  the  self-denial  and 
redemption  from  the  fashions  and  customs  of  a  vain  world, 
required  of  the  followers  of  Christ.  The  most  serious  re- 
ligious people,  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 
had  from  conscientious  motives  discarded  the  frivolous 
ornaments  of  attire  which  were  very  generally  indulged 
in,  and  had  adopted  a  plain,  simple  and  useful  style  of 
dress.  From  among  these,  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the 
beginning  w^as  chiefly  gathered ;  and  for  a  considerable 
time,  it  would  appear  that  they  were  not  greatly  distin- 
guished from  them  by  their  apparel.  But  their  principles 
restrained  them  from  following  the  changeable  fashions 
of  the  world ;  and  as  others  varied  from  time  to  time,  their 
own  continued  adherence  to  the  simple  mode  of  dress  into 
which  they  had  been  led,  produced,  in  process  of  time,  a 
26* 


306 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1692. 


marked  distinction  between  Friends  and  the  rest  of  the 
community.  Thus  this  Christian  testimony  arose  into  a 
more  prominent  point  of  view  than,  from  the  above  circum- 
stances, it  had  held  when  the  members  were  recently  gath- 
ered ;  though  George  Fox  had  at  an  early  date  declared 
against  indulging  in  gay  attire,  and  encouraged  his  friends 
to  faithfulness  in  this  respect. 

This  testimony  to  Christian  simplicity  was  not  confined 
to  personal  attire  alone,  but  extended  to  the  furniture  of 
houses,  and  the  general  life  and  conversation ;  and  for 
many  years  after  the  rise  of  the  Society,  a  remarkable  con- 
sistency of  conduct  was  apparent  among  the  members  gen- 
erally. Isaac  Penington  once  challenged  the  production  of 
a  single  instance  among  Friends,  of  one  who  was  taken 
captive  by  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  thereby  led  under 
the  power  of  covetousness.  But  alas !  this  beautiful  exam- 
ple of  a  whole  society  of  people  bearing  with  one  accord  in 
their  bodies  the  marks  of  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  of  a 
crucifixion  to  the  world  and  a  deaf  ear  to  its  false  allure- 
ments, gradually  became  clouded  over.  Temporal  prosper- 
ity was  the  portion  of  many  Friends,  whose  children,  grow- 
ing up  in  ease  and  affluence,  began  to  despise  the  cross 
which  their  parents  had  faithfully  borne.  Little  by  little, 
things  crept  in  among  families,  which  the  pure  word  of 
truth  could  not  sanction ;  there  was  an  eager  pursuit  of 
business,  bringing  great  encumbrance  upon  the  minds  of 
some  who  might  otherwise  have  been  eminently  serviceable 
in  the  church ;  and  a  luxurious  tasty  spirit  got  afloat, 
which  craved  to  have  household  furniture,  and  even  per- 
sonal clothing,  more  delicate  and  showy  than  what  pure 
Christian  simplicity  would  have  led  into.  Some  faithful 
men  and  women  in  various  places  saw  the  inroads  which 
the  enemy  was  thus  silt^ntly  making  in  a  camp,  which 
had  nobly  withstood  all  the  powers  of  persecution,  and  had 
held  up,  through  evil  report,  a  banner  for  the  truth  of  God. 


1692.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


307 


In  Ireland  particularly  about  the  year  1692  was  a  standard 
raised  against  these  inroads,  and  some  advances  were  made 
towards  a  reformation.  That  eminent  instrument  for  the 
gathering  and  preservation  of  the  Society  in  this  island, 
William  Edmundson,  with  Joseph  Pike  and  Samuel  Ran- 
dall, felt  deeply  concerned  for  the  revival  of  ancient  sim- 
plicity, and  began  to  arouse  their  brethren  to  the  necessity 
of  a  united  effort  for  this  very  desirable  object.  They  had, 
however,  great  difficulties  to  encounter.  Many  had  gone 
out  into  extravagant  furniture  and  apparel,  to  gratify  the 
natural  mind  in  things  which  the  Divine  Spirit  in  the  be- 
ginning had  led  Friends  to  put  away.  Some  from  wearing 
dresses  of  plain  colors,  had  got  lighter  ones ;  and  others 
seeing  these,  had  themselves  gone  a  degree  further,  adding 
a  small  or  a  larger  figure  ;  until  at  length  such  vain  fash- 
ionable colors  and  patterns  were  indulged  in,  and  so  ex- 
cessively fine  and  superfluous  furniture,  that  many  could 
scarcely  be  recognized  as  belonging  to  the  Society. 

At  length  the  attention  of  the  Half-yearly  Meeting  in 
Dublin  was  called  to  the  subject ;  and  under  a  pressure  of 
spirit  it  issued  advice  to  the  members,  counselling  them 
against  these  hurtful  things,  and  exhorting  to  a  faithful 
uniting  together  for  solemn  waiting  in  spirit  on  the  Lord ; 
to  the  right  education  of  the  children  in  godliness,  indus- 
try, humility,  and  self-denial ;  and  to  a  solid  grave  deport- 
ment, on  all  occasions,  becoming  the  Christian.  It  was 
also  recommended,  that  every  Quarterly  Meeting  appoint 
I  clean-handed  and  faithful  Friends,  who  had  a  true  concern 
for  a  reformation,  to  inspect  and  visit  every  particular 
meeting,  family,  and  person ;  and  to  advise,  exhort,  and 
admonish  Friends  to  a  compliance  with  the  advices,  as  they 
found  occasion. 

Joseph  Pike  had  returned  to  Cork  from  England,  under 
a  strong  apprehension  of  duty  to  join  hand  and  heart  in 
the  woi'k  of  reformation.    Being  a  young  man,  he  had 


308 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1692. 


felt  much  diffidence  of  his  own  fitness  for  undertaking  such 
a  work ;  it  was  very  trying  to  him  to  have  to  appear  as 
one  of  the  foremost;  and  he  often  said  in  his  heart,  "Oh, 
that  I  could  shelter  myself  under  some  worthy  elders! 
then  would  I  heartily  assist  them  in  spirit,  and,  as  under 
their  wing,  do  what  little  I  could."  But  being  appointed 
by  his  meeting  with  other  Friends,  to  this  weighty  and 
arduous  work,  he  heartily  joined  his  brethren  in  first  search- 
ing their  own  houses,  and  clearing  themselves  from  marks 
of  superfluity  or  luxury ;  so  that  they  might  with  clean 
hands  go  to  exhort  their  fellow-members  to  greater  sim- 
plicity, and  accordance  with  their  holy  profession.  In 
doing  this,  they  had  to  part  with  many  things  which  the 
world  esteemed  lawful,  but  which  they  believed  were  stand- 
ing in  the  way  of  entire  conformity  to  the  will  of  Him, 
who  seeketh  a  people  crucified  to  the  spirit  of  the  world 
and  the  gratifications  of  the  carnal  mind.  Not  that  they 
placed  religion  barely  in  outward  conformity  and  plain- 
ness. Far  otherwise — they  were  well  aware  that  though 
we  may  outwardly  conform  in  everything  to  which  the 
Holy  Scriptures  direct  us,  or  that  may  have  been  practised 
or  advised  by  the  worthy  men  who  were  instrumental  in 
raising  up  this  people  in  the  beginning ;  yet  if  our  hearts 
are  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God;  and  we  do  not  wit- 
ness a  grafting  into  the  true  Vine,  and  a  growth  in  the 
holy  Truth,  all  the  external  conformity  and  plainness  in 
the  world,  though  good  in  itself,  will  avail  us  nothing  as  to 
divine  acceptance,  but  be  as  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling 
cymbal.  Yet  they  were  equally  convinced  that  tme  re- 
ligion leads  into  a  deep  searching  of  heart  and  of  the  secret 
springs  of  action,  and  allows  not  of  the  fostering  of  those 
natural  propensities  which  have  a  life  in  show^  and  parade, 
in  delicacy  and  superfluity ;  but  leads  us  to  deny  ourselves, 
and  by  a  holy  and  circumspect  walking,  to  redeem  the  time, 
and  to  testify  our  heartfelt  conviction,  that  "we  have  here 


1692.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


309 


no  continuing  city,"  no  permanent  abiding-place,  but  that 
"we  seek  one  to  come,"  as  the  chief  and  all-absorbing  good. 
And  though  some  might  frivolously  argue,  "Where  is  the 
standard  of  plainness  and  simplicity ;  and  what  is  the 
exact  rule  by  which  we  are  to  square  ourselves ;  or  who  are 
the  pro}>er  judges  of  what  is  our  duty  in  these  respects, 
but  ourselves?"  these  would  nevertheless  find,  if  they  were 
really  Avi] ling  to  obey,  without  reserve,  the  inspeaking  Word 
in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  heart,  that  the  Spirit  of  Truth 
is  sufficient  to  guide  in  these  as  in  all  other  things,  and 
that  it  will  so  guide  those  who  sincerely  desire  to  be  made 
conformable  to  Christ's  death,  into  a  holy  consistency,  and 
a  certain  degree  of  uniformity,  by  which  they  shall  be 
known  to  be  one  another's  brethren  in  that  which  changeth 
not ;  and  will  produce  a  tenderness  and  caution  to  be  pre- 
served from  even  edging  or  tending  towards  the  side  of  a 
luxurious  world,  in  copying  after  its  vain  and  foolish 
fashions.  They  would  see  also  that  the  church  has  au- 
thority, under  its  blessed  Head,  to  claim  the  consistent 
walking  of  all  its  professed  members,  with  their  high  and 
holy  calling. 

The  committee  thus  appointed,  after  first  searching  their 
own  houses,  and  clearing  their  hearts  to  each  other  in  great 
freedom,  proceeded  in  the  work  with  a  deep  concern  for  the 
prosperity  of  truth,  and  the  welfare  of  the  members.  They 
visited  every  family  of  Friends,  and  those  who  attended  the 
meetings  of  Friends  in  the  city  of  Cork,  sitting  down  in 
quietness  together  with  them ;  and  as  they  found  a  concern 
to  come  upon  their  minds,  giving  them  advice  and  counsel 
suitable  to  their  respective  states ;  particularly  exhorting 
them  to  keep  close  to  the  witness  for  God,  the  gift  and 
measure  of  His  Holy  Spirit  in  their  souls,  whereby  they 
might  come  to  experience  a  growth  in  His  holy  truth ;  and 
the  inside  being  thus  made  clean,  the  outside  would  be 
clean  also.    The  Lord  owned  them  in  their  service,  break- 


810 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1692. 


ing  in  upon  the  spirits  of  those  visited  as  well  as  the  vis- 
itors, by  his  living  and  powerful  presence,  to  the  bowing  of 
many  hearts  into  tenderness ;  so  that  some  would  acknowl- 
edge their  deficiencies,  and  in  brokenness  of  heart  desire  to 
be  found  more  faithful.  No  opposition  appeared  in  any  of 
the  families  visited,  but  a  general  condescension  to  put 
away  superfluities;  so  that  in  a  short  time  there  was  a 
pretty  thorough  reformation  in  that  city,  as  to  things  that 
were  contrary  to  truth  and  the  rules  of  the  Society. 

After  this,  Joseph  Pike  and  other  Friends  visited  the 
province  of  Munster  generally,  more  than  once,  and  found 
a  general  disposition  to  accede  to  the  concern  and  counsel 
of  the  committee.  And  similar  visits  were  performed  by 
committees  in  the  other  provinces,  with  the  same  blessed 
result. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  APOSTASY  OF  GEORGE  KEITH. 

THE  unsound  and  dangerous  notion,  that  a  man  once 
under  the  powerful  influence  of  the  Grace  of  God  can- 
not fall  therefrom,  received  a  signal  contradiction  in  the 
melancholy  instance  of  George  Keith ;  whose  history  is  an 
instructive  w^arning  to  those  who  may  have  tasted  largely 
"  of  the  good  word  of  life,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come  ;"  lest  wandering  from  the  place  of  watchfulness,  and 
giving  way  to  a  spirit  of  self-exaltation,  they  become  vainly 
puffed  up  by  their  supposed  attainments,  and  fall  into  the 
snares  ever  laid  for  the  feet  of  the  unwary. 

George  Keith  had  been  an  eminent  instrument  in  the 


1692.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


311 


gathering  of  the  people  called  Quakers  from  the  barren 
mountains  of  empty  profession,  to  the  green  pastures  and 
still  waters  of  pure  and  life-giving  Christianity.  He  Avas 
a  native  of  Scotland,  and  had  received  a  liberal  education 
in  the  university  of  Aberdeen ;  and  having  joined  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  w.as  called  into  the  ministry,  and  suffered 
imprisonment  for  his  testimony  to  the  truth,  so  early  as 
1664.  The  next  year,  believing  it  required  of  him  to  enter 
the  steeple-house  at  Aberdeen  with  a  gospel  message,  he 
was  there  violently  assaulted  and  beaten  to  the  ground  by 
the  bell-ringer.  Shortly  after  this,  the  bell-ringer  going 
up  the  steeple  to  toll  the  bell,  fell  through  a  hole  above 
four  stories  high,  and  was  instantly  killed  by  the  fall,  upon 
the  very  same  spot  of  pavement  where  he  had  beaten  down 
George  Keith. 

George  was  afterwards,  for  several  years,  involved  with 
numbers  of  his  Friends  in  confiscations  and  long  imprison- 
ments for  the  cause  of  a  pure  conscience ;  and  also  exerted 
himself,  both  in  verbal  disputations  and  on  many  occasions 
in  print,  in  defence  of  the  principles  he  had  embraced. 
Indeed  for  nearly  thirty  years  he  fully  participated  in  the 
concerns  and  sufferings  of  the  Society,  and  was  in  unity 
with  its  most  esteemed  members.  But  alas !  in  a  time  of 
unwatchfulness,  the  enemy  found  an  entrance  into  his  heart; 
he  became  wavering  in  mind  and  impatient  under  suffer- 
ings ;  and  Avas  shaken  from  his  steadfastness  in  the  faith. 
That  inward  turning  of  the  soul  constantly  towards  the 
Lord  with  humble  breathings  for  preservation,  in  which 
alone  is  true  safety,  gave  way  to  self-sufficiency  and  empty 
speculations ;  and  he  began  to  indulge  himself  in  curious, 
uncertain,  and  unprofitable  questions,  the  fanciful  notions 
of  one  Van  Helmont,  concerning  the  transmigration  of 
souls,  the  resurrection,  and  other  matters  calculated  to  sub- 
vert the  mind,  and  carry  it  away  from  the  right  object  of 
its  meditation  and  its  love.    But  finding  no  room  amongst 


812 


HISTORICAL   MP:M0IHS  OF 


[1692. 


his  Friends  for  the  propagation  of  these  airy  notions,  he 
let  in  secret  jealousy  and  contempt,  which  afterwards  broke 
out  in  open  opposition  and  contention ;  first  with  individ- 
uals, and  then  with  the  body  at  large. 

Becoming  meanwhile  more  and  more  impatient  under 
the  sufferings  to  which  Friends  were  then  subjected,  he  de- 
clared that  as  nothing  but  persecution  was  to  be  met  with 
in  England,  he  would  seek  an  asylum  in  a  land  of  liberty ; 
and  accordingly  sailed  for  America.  He  had  not  yet  placed 
himself  in  an  attitude  of  open  opposition  to  Friends,  and 
still  retained  a  place  in  their  esteem ;  and  on  his  arrival  in 
Philadelphia  he  was  chosen  by  Friends  to  superintend  a 
school  there,  with  a  comfortable  remuneration.  But  his 
restless  sj)irit  was  not  satisfied.  He  aimed  at  having  pre- 
eminence in  the  church ;  and  George  Fox  having  died  in 
the  year  1690,  symptoms  began  to  appear  in  George 
Keith's  conduct,  which  led  to  a  conjecture  that  he  was 
aiming  to  succeed  that  eminent  servant  of  the  Lord,  at 
least  in  America,  in  that  esteem  and  influence  which  he 
had  so  rightly  and  disinterestedly  held  in  the  minds  of  his 
Friends.  He  even  came  forward  in  several  instances  to 
vindicate  with  his  pen  before  the  world,  the  principles  of 
the  Society,  particularly  against  Cotton  Mather,  and  the 
New  England  Presbyterians.  But  many  of  his  friends  be- 
came increasingly  uneasy  with  his  restless  aspiring  spirit, 
and  some  were  concerned  in  brotherly  love  and  solicitude 
to  communicate  to  him  their  apprehensions ;  and  he,  find- 
ing that  he  could  not  obtain  that  pre-eminence  which  he 
coveted,  nor  carry  things  in  all  cases  as  he  pleased  in  the 
church,  at  length  allowed  his  secret  disgust  and  disappoint- 
ment to  break  out  into  open  dissension.  He  began  with 
objecting  to  the  discipline  which  the  Society  in  America 
had  established ;  from  this  he  went  to  captious  remarks 
and  bitter  sarcasms  on  the  general  conduct  of  Friends, 
their  manner  of  preaching,  &c.,  and  soon  raised  a  contest 


1(392.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKIENDS. 


313 


with  two  {)f  his  fellow-members.  He  also  undertook  to 
deny  the  doctrine  which  he  had  before  faithfully  defended, 
that  the  universal  love  and  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  is 
sufficient,  if  abode  in,  to  procure  salvation,  without  the 
outward  knowledge  of  Christ's  death  and  resurrection. 

Friends  in  England  were  made  acquainted  Avith  the 
discord  which  he  was  thus  sowing  in  America ;  where- 
upon George  Whitehead,  Patrick  Livingston  and  some 
others  wrote  an  affectionate  epistle  to  their  brethren  in 
Pennsylvania,  earnestly  pressing  them  to  "  keep  the  unity 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,"  and  warning  them 
against  disputations  on  subjects  not  tending  to  edification. 
But  this  was  not  sufficient  to  stop  the  efforts  which  George 
was  making  to  obtain  a  party  in  his  favor.  Being  baffled 
in  his  principal  aim,  of  taking  the  lead  in  the  Society,  he 
let  loose  his  malicious  disposition  without  bounds,  and 
vented  his  passionate  resentment  in  illiberal  reproaches,  in 
violation  even  of  decency  and  common  sense.  He  railed 
against  Thomas  Lloyd,  the  deputy  governor,  from  whom  he 
had  received  many  favors,  calling  him  "  an  impudent  man 
and  pitiful  governor,"  tauntingly  asking  him  why  he  did 
not  send  him  to  jail,  and  otherwise  endeavoriug  to  draw 
him  and  other  magistrates  into  some  measure  which  he 
might  represent  as  persecution  for  religion.  But  the  men 
he  had  to  deal  with  were  of  a  different  cast,  being  re- 
strained by  their  religious  principles  from  returning  railing 
for  railing ;  they  bore  his  reproaches  with  patience,  and  ex- 
erted their  endeavors  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  to  recover 
and  j^acify  him,  and  prevent  an  open  breach  ;  but  without 
success.  At  length,  after  quarrelling  with  various  individ- 
uals, and  applying  opprobrious  epithets  freely,  as  his  pas- 
sion dictated,  he  went  a  step  further,  and  brought  a  re- 
proachful charge  against  a  reputable  part  of  the  body  at 
large,  accusing  a  meeting  of  ministers  with  coming  together 
"  to  cloak  heresies  and  deceit ; "  and  declaring  that  there 


3U 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1692. 


were  more  heresies  and  erroneous  doctrines  among  the 
Quakers  than  among  any  profession  of  Protestants ;  in  di- 
rect contradiction  to  what  he  had  himself  advanced,  when 
opposing  Cotton  Mather,  within  a  year  from  that  time. 

Hitherto  Friends  had  treated  with  him  in  a  private  way 
in  much  meekness  and  patience ;  but  it  was  now  thought 
that  this  public  reproach  demanded  public  reparation ; 
which  George  contemptuously  refusing  to  make,  the 
Monthly  Meeting  of  Philadelphia  proceeded  to  disown 
him.  This  they  did  by  a  testimony  addressed  to  the  sev- 
eral Monthly  and  Quarterly  Meetings,  containing  a  plain 
narration  of  his  offensive  conduct,  and  of  the  reasons  of 
their  procedure. 

George  having  succeeded  in  drawing  around  him  a  num- 
ber of  discontented  spirits  like  himself,  now  set  up  a  sepa- 
rate meeting,  which  assumed  the  title  of  "  Christian  Qua- 
kers and  Friends,"  and  made  nearly  its  whole  business,  the 
vilifying  of  those  among  whom  they  had  formerly  walked 
in  harmony  and  fellowship.  George  had  gained  over  to 
his  party  one  William  Bradford,  the  only  printer  at  that 
time  in  Philadelphia,  and  by  his  means  readily  published 
his  malicious  invectives. 

His  old  friends  at  Aberdeen  were  much  distressed  at 
hearing  of  his  defection  ;  and  wrote  to  him  and  his  wife  a 
tender,  expostulatory  letter,  beseeching  them  to  return  into 
the  unity  of  the  body.  It  was  addressed  to  "  our  ancient 
Friends  George  and  Elizabeth  Keith;"  whom  they  ten- 
derly reminded  how  useful  they  (particularly  George)  had 
been  in  building  up  the  Lord's  church  and  people  in  Scot- 
land ;  and  after  reminding  George  of  his  former  labor  in 
demonstrating  the  free  unmerited  love  of  God  to  all  man- 
kind, and  referring  him  to  two  of  his  own  treatises,  they 
added,  "  How  glad  should  our  hearts  have  been  to  have 
found  thee,  George,  going  on,  as  moved  thereunto,  to  im- 
prove thy  talents,  which  the  Lord  hath  liberally  given 


1694.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


815 


thee,  for  further  spreading  the  beauty,  fame,  excellency, 
and  loveliness  of  this  precious  inward  plant  of  renown ; 
and  so  edifying,  comforting,  and  strengthening  the  flock  of 
Christ,  as  in  pastures  of  love,  that  the  beauty  of  the  love 
of  brethren  in  unity  might  flow  as  sweet  ointment,  to  make 
the  lamp  of  truth  shine  with  lustre  throughout  the  world, — 
as  in  due  time  we  believe  it  shall."  —  "O  George!  bear  with 
us  in  love,  for  we  can  say  it  is  in  tender  breakings  of  heart 
we  utter  it,  and  in  tender  breathings  for  thee,  that  if  that 
sweet,  healing,  meek,  self-denying  spirit  of  lowly  Jesus  had 
been  kept  and  abode  in,  your  breaches  thereaway  would 
have  been  handled  after  another  manner ;  and  such  a  sad 
occasion  to  amuse  the  world,  sadden  the  hearts  of  God's 
children,  and  rejoice  the  enemies  of  Zion's  peace  and  pros- 
perity, had  never  been  told  in  Gath,  nor  published  in  As- 
kelon,"  Here  they  appeared  to  allude  to  some  of  his  pub- 
lications pretending  to  set  forth  his  grievances,  which  it  is 
probable  he  had  sent  to  Aberdeen ;  and  with  other  affec- 
tionate judicious  counsel,  they  thus  concluded:  "So,  our 
dear  and  ancient  Friends,  we  earnestly  desire  you  to  re- 
ceive in  a  right  mind  our  innocent  freedom  and  love :  and 
in  the  cool  of  the  day,  go  forth  again  with  your  brethren 
into  the  ancient  green  pastures  of  love,  and  to  the  healing 
springs  of  life ;  giving  up  to  fire  and  sword  that  which  is 
for  it ;  so  the  first  and  the  last  works  shall  be  precious  to- 
gether ;  then  '  righteousness  and  peace  shall  kiss  each  other.' 
And  we  can  say,  appealing  to  the  Lord  our  God,  the 
searcher  of  hearts,  our  joy  shall  be  great,  to  hear  that  the 
sweet,  healing  and  uniting  life  hath  or  shall  make  up  all 
those  breaches  in  Israel's  camp,  by  all  of  us  submitting  to 
it,  and  the  true  judgment  thereof  in  His  church.  And  in 
this  sweet,  ancient  spring  of  our  Father's  love,  wherein  we 
have  often  been  sweetly  refreshed  together,  many  years  ago, 
shall  we  truly  rejoice  to  hear  from  you,  and  also  to  see 
your  faces,  who  remain  your  friends  and  well-wishers." 


816  HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF  [1694. 


But  neither  did  the  tender  entreaties  of  these  his  early 
fellow-laborers  avail  to  stop  his  angry  career.  In  the 
spring  of  1694,  he  returned  to  England,  in  hopes  appar- 
ently of  gaining  upon  the  good  will  of  Friends  there.  But 
after  a  patient  investigation  of  his  case,  which  occupied 
nearly  ten  days,  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  London  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  fault  lay  at  George  Keith's  door ; 
and  charged  hini  to  retract  his  accusations,  call  in  those 
malicious  books  of  his  by  which  the  Society  had  been  tra- 
duced, and  sincerely  use  his  best  endeavors  to  terminate 
the  separation.  He  rejected,  however,  this  advice  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  and  endeavored  to  rend  the  Society  in 
England ;  but  his  rude  and  intemperate  conduct  frustrated 
his  intentions,  and  he  gained  but  few  adherents.  The  next 
Yearly  Meeting,  seeing  that  he  went  on  still  in  his  dis- 
orderly course,  confirmed  the  judgment  of  Friends  of 
Philadelphia,  by  issuing  themselves  a  testimony  against 
him. 

He  was  now  totally  separated  from  the  Society,  and  set 
up  in  London  a  separate  meeting  at  Turner's  Hall,  con- 
tinuing to  write  against  Friends ;  who,  however,  found  an 
able  advocate  in  Thomas  Ellwood.  George  having  for 
some  time  endeavored  to  court  the  favor  of  the  Episcopal 
clergy,  and  raised  their  hopes  of  his  bringing  over  to  their 
communion,  many  of  his  late  fellow-members,  was  after  a 
time  ordained  a  priest  by  the  bishop  of  London,  and  re- 
ceived employment  as  a  curate.  His  party  in  America 
dwindled  away;  and  when,  in  1701,  he  was  sent  over 
thither  as  a  missionary,  he  met  with  little  success,  and  was 
looked  on  with  disdain.  Keturning  in  about  a  year  to 
England,  he  received  the  benefice  of  Edberton  in  Sussex. 
But  his  restless  spirit  involved  him  in  contention  with  his 
parishioners  about  the  tithes :  for  displaying  an  unusually 
extortionate  disposition,  and  extending  his  claim  to  the  very 
utmost,  even  to  the  tenth  of  the  eggs  of  a  single  fowl,  and 


1714.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEN-DS. 


317 


of  the  garden  roots  of  the  poorest  inhabitant,  he  lost  the 
affections  of  his  hearers,  who  were  quite  disgusted  with  his 
meanness  and  avarice.  He  fell  into  general  disrepute,  and 
many  of  his  neighbors  were  accustomed  to  say,  they  should 
be  glad  if  the  Quakers  would  take  him  back  again,  so  that 
they  might  be  rid  of  so  turbulent  a  spirit. 

There  is  ground  to  hope,  that  near  his  latter  end,  he  had 
some  hours  of  serious  reflection,  wherein  he  was  sensible  of 
the  peaceful  state  he  had  once  enjoyed  in  fellowship  with 
Friends,  and  felt  remorse  for  its  loss ;  for,  paying  a  yisit  to 
Hurst-pierpoint,  and  a  conyersation  arising  concerning  the 
Quakers,  he  owned  before  several  persons,  "  that  since  he 
had  left  them,  he  had  lost  one  qualification  they  had 
amongst  them,  that  in  their  religious  meetings  they  could 
stop  all  thoughts  which  hindered  their  devotions,  which  he 
very  much  admired  he  could  never  attain  to  since."  And 
near  the  close  of  his  life,  a  Friend  paid  him  a  visit ;  which 
he  appeared  to  receive  kindly,  amongst  other  remarks  ex- 
pressing himself  to  this  effect :  "  I  wish  I  had  died  when  I 
was  a  Quaker,  for  then  I  am  sure  it  would  have  been  well 
with  my  soul."  His  decease  is  supposed  to  have  occurred 
about  the  year  1714. 

This  case  of  George  Keith  is  one  of  deep  instruction.  A 
neglect  of  inward  watchfulness  and  daily  self-denial  had 
left  his  mind  exposed  to  the  darkening  cloud  of  specula- 
tive error ;  and  the  pride  of  a  deceived  heart  prevented 
his  accepting  in  meekness  the  labors  of  love  extended  for 
his  recovery.  "Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take 
heed  lest  he  fall."  But  the  downfall  of  individuals  is  not 
the  downfall  of  the  church.  This  is  founded  on  a  rock, 
and  the  Lord  can  still  "  send  the  rod  of  his  strength  out  of 
Zion,  and  rule  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies."  Let  there- 
fore, the  humble,  careful  traveller  be  encouraged  to  look 
to  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  and  endeavor  to  staud 
faithful  to  His  cause,  watching  over  his  own  heart,  lest  at 
27* 


318 


HTSTORTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1694. 


any  time  the  cares  of  this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches,  and  the  lusts  of  other  things,  entering  in,  choke  the 
word,  and  it  become  unfruitful;" — -"looking  diligently, 
lest  any  man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God ;  lest  any  root  of 
bitterness  springing  up,  trouble  "  the  church,  "  and  thereby 
many  be  defiled." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
PETER  Gardiner's  journey  to  Scotland,  and  death. 

IN  the  year  1694,  Peter  Gardiner,  a  Friend  who  lived  in 
Essex,  England,  had  a  religious  concern  to  visit  Scot- 
land ;  but  being  low  in  circumstances,  and  having  a  wife 
and  several  children,  was  under  discouragement  about  it. 
The  Lord  in  mercy  condescended  to  remove  his  doubts,  by 
letting  him  know  He  w^ould  be  with  him ;  and  though  he 
had  no  horse  to  ride,  and  was  but  a  weakly  man,  yet  that 
He  would  give  him  strength  to  perform  the  journey,  and 
sustain  him  so  that  he  should  not  want  for  what  was  suf- 
ficient. Having  faith  in  the  Divine  promise,  he  laid  his 
concern  before  the  Monthly  Meeting  to  which  he  belonged, 
with  innocent  weight ;  and  Friends  concurring  with  him 
therein,  he  took  his  journey  along  the  east  side  of  the 
nation,  through  Norfolk,  Lincolnshire,  and  Yorkshire  ; 
and  coming  to  a  meeting  in  Bridlington,  where  John  Rich- 
ardson then  resided,  he  lodged  at  his  house.  In  the  even- 
ing, the  doors  being  shut,  Peter  asked  him  "  if  any  Friend 
lived  that  w^ay,"  pointing  with  his  finger.  John  told  him 
he  pointed  towards  the  sea,  Avhich  was  not  far  distant. 
Peter  said  he  believed  he  must  go  and  see  somebody  that 


1694.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


319 


way  in  the  morning.  John  asking  him  if  he  should  go 
with  him,  he  replied  that  he  believed  it  would  not  be  best, 
and  so  went  to  bed. 

In  the  morning,  when  John's  wife  had  prepared  break- 
fast, their  guest  not  appearing,  he  thought  he  would  go  to 
his  chamber  and  see  if  the  Friend  were  well ;  but  to  his 
surprise,  he  found  that  he  was  gone.  Soon  afterwards 
Peter  came  in ;  to  whom  John  said,  "  Thou  hast  taken  a 
morning  walk ;  come  to  breakfast."  Before  they  had  done 
eating,  a  Friend  from  the  harbor,  which  lay  in  the  direc- 
tion to  which  Peter  Gardiner  had  pointed  overnight,  came 
in,  and  said,  "  I  wonder  at  thee,  John,  to  send  this  man 
with  such  a  message  to  my  house ; "  and  related  as  follows, 
viz. :  "  That  he  came  to  him  as  he  was  standing  at  the  fish- 
market-place,  looking  on  the  sea  to  observe  the  wind,  and 
he  asked  him  if  he  would  walk  into  his  house  ?  To  which 
Peter  answered,  that  he  came  for  that  purpose.  This  was 
in  the  twilight  of  the  morning.  When  he  went  into  the 
house,  Peter  inquired  whether  his  wife  were  well ;  to  which 
the  man  answered,  that  she  was  sick  in  bed,  and  invited 
him  to  go  in  and  see  her.  He  said,  he  came  so  to  do. 
Being  conducted  into  the  chamber,  he  sat  down  by  the 
sick  woman ;  and  after  a  short  time  told  her,  that  the 
resignation  of  her  mind  was  accepted  instead  of  the  deed, 
and  that  she  was  excused  from  the  journey  which  had  been 
before  her  mind,  and  should  die  in  peace  with  God  and 
man.  Then  turning  to  her  husband,  he  said,  '  Thy  wife 
had  a  concern  to  visit  the  churches  beyond  the  sea ;  but 
thou  would'st  not  give  her  leave ;  so  she  shall  be  taken 
from  thee  ; '  adding,  '  Thy  wife  will  be  happy  ;  but  behold, 
the  Lord's  hand  is  against  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  blasted 
in  whatsoever  thou  doest,  and  reduced  to  want  thy  bread.' " 
The  man  seemed  angry  with  John  Richardson,  who  said  to 
him,  "Be  still,  and  weigh  the  matter;  for  I  knew  not  of 
the  Friend's  going  to  thy  house,  but  tliought  he  was  in 


820  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1694. 


bed ;  Tiiicl  did  not  inform  him  about  thee  nor  thy  wife ; " 
at  which  he  went  away. 

Peter  pursued  his  journey  towards  Scotland,  John  Rich- 
a,rdson  and  another  Friend  going  with  him  to  Scarborough, 
on  horseback,  for  he  would  not  let  them  go  on  foot  with 
him.  He  kept  before  them  as  fast  as  they  chose  to  ride ; 
and  when  they  had  gone  about  halfway,  he  gained  on 
them,  and  John  was  filled  with  admiration,  for  he  seemed 
to  go  with  more  lightness  and  ease  than  ever  he  had  seen 
any  man  before.  Riding  fast  to  overtake  him,  he  re- 
marked, "  thou  dost  travel  very  fast ; "  to  which  Peter  re- 
plied, "  My  Master  told  me,  before  I  left  home,  that  He 
w^ould  give  me  hind's  feet,  and  he  hath  performed  his 
promise  to  me." 

When  they  came  in  sight  of  Scarborough,  Peter  said, 
"  Do  take  me  to  some  Friend's  house  —  a  Friend's  indeed 
—  for  I  am  greatly  distressed."  John  replied,  "I  will 
take  thee  to  the  place  where  I  lodge,  and  if  thou  art  not 
easy  there,  I  will  go  until  we  find  a  place,  if  it  may  be." 
And  just  as  they  entered  the  door,  they  heard  some  one 
go  up  stairs ;  and  the  woman  of  the  house  coming  down, 
invited  them  to  be  seated.  In  a  little  while,  Peter  ap- 
peared very  uneasy,  and  said  to  John,  "  I  cannot  stay  in 
this  house :  here  is  light  and  darkness  —  good  and  bad." 
After  the  woman  had  got  them  some  refreshment,  she  came 
and  asked  John,  "  Who  hast  thou  brought  here?"  —  "A 
man  of  God,"  he  replied ;  whereupon  they  went  away. 
Peter  had  a  meeting  at  Scarborough  the  next  day,  and  had 
good  service.  He  also  went  to  several  Friends'  houses,  and 
frequently  spoke  his  sense  of  the  state  of  the  families ;  but 
as  they  were  about  entering  one  house,  he  stopped  and  said 
to  John,  "  My  Master  is  not  there  —  I  will  not  go  in ;  "  so 
they  turned  away.  When  John  was  about  leaving  him  to 
return  home,  Peter  asked  him  "  if  the  small-pox  was  in 
any  town  on  bis  way?"     John  replied,  "Why?  Peter, 


169-i.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


321 


■what  hast  thou  to  do  Avith  that?"  To  Tvhidi  he  ans-wered, 
"  I  am  satisfied  I  shall  die  of  that  distemper ;  and  my 
Master  told  me  to  make  speed  in  this  visit,  for  I  had  but 
a  short  time  to  do  it  in."  John  Eichardson  was  much 
affected ;  and  wishing  to  facilitate  Peter's  journey,  who, 
he  saw,  bore  the  appearance  of  a  poor  man,  asked  him 
how  he  was  prepared  in  money ;  telling  him  it  was  expen- 
sive travelling  in  Scotland,  Friends  were  thinly  scattered, 
and  the  journey  was  long.  Peter  answered,  "  I  have 
enough  :  my  Master  told  me  I  should  not  want ;  and  now 
a  bit  of  bread  or  some  water  from  a  brook,  refreshes  me 
as  much  as  a  set  meal  at  a  table."  John,  however,  insist- 
ing to  see  how  much  money  he  had,  found  it  was  but  two 
half-crowns ;  and  feeling  an  immediate  impulse  to  tender 
him  some  money,  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  number  of 
small  pieces.  Peter  modestly  refused  them,  saying  he 
doubted  not  his  Master's  provision ;  but  John  forced  him 
to  take  it,  telling  him  the  Lord  had  put  it  into  his  heart ; 
and  so  they  parted. 

In  about  two  weeks  afterwards,  the  man's  wife  at  the 
sea-shore,  before  mentioned,  died,  as  Peter  had  foretold. 
At  that  time,  this  man  had  three  ships  at  sea ;  his  oldest 
son  was  master  of  one,  his  second  son  was  on  board  an- 
other ;  and  in  their  voyages  they  were  all  wrecked  or 
foundered,  their  cargoes  chiefly  lost,  and  his  two  sons  and 
several  of  the  hands  were  drowned.  So  that,  from  consider- 
able afiluence,  he  was  soon  after  reduced  so  low  as  to  be  main- 
tained by  Friends.  The  woman  at  whose  house  Peter  was 
so  uneasy  at  Scarborough,  had  put  her  husband  to  bed  in 
a  state  of  intoxication  ;  which  John  Richardson  had  not 
before  known  him  to  be  guilty  of. 

Peter  proceeded  into  Scotland,  and  paid  a  very  accept- 
able visit  among  Friends  of  that  nation.  In  the  Eleventh 
month,  he  was  at  Aberdeen,  Ury,  Montrose,  etc.,  where  a 
remarkable  out-pouring  of  the  gift  of  the  gospel  ministrv 


822 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1694. 


p^ttencled  his  labors.  Eobert  Barclay,  Jun'r,  David,  Chris- 
tian, and  Catharine  Barclay,  Robert  Gerard,  and  Marga- 
ret Jaffray,  among  the  young,  and  John  Forbes  and  Jane 
Molleson,  among  the  older  members,  had  their  mouths 
opened  to  declare  of  the  Lord's  goodness,  and  invite  others 
to  partake  of  it. 

His  visit  to  the  neighborhood  of  Ury  was  remarkable. 
Kobert  Barclay,  the  Apologist,  as  we  have  seen,  was  de- 
ceased, but  his  widow  still  resided  there,  with  her  seven 
children.  On  the  death  of  her  eminently  gifted  husband, 
George  Fox  had  addressed  to  his  bereaved  widow,  an  epis- 
tle of  affectionate  sympathy ;  in  which,  after  setting  forth 
the  consolations  which  flow  from  a  union  and  communion 
with  the  Lord,  the  Husband  and  Father  of  His  people,  he 
endeavored  to  encourage  her  to  do  her  day's  work,  to  put 
on  strength  in  the  divine  name,  and  to  hope  for  a  blessing 
on  her  faithful  discharge  of  duty,  as  a  spiritual  nursing- 
mother  over  her  household.  And  further,  he  subjoined 
his  fervent  prayer,  that  her  children  might  be  established 
upon  the  Bock,  Christ  Jesus,  and  thus  be  favored  of  the 
Most  High,  through  the  fervent  exercise  of  their  surviving 
parent.  She  was  indeed  a  faithful  mother,  and  lived  to 
see  some  of  the  blessed  fruit  of  her  religious  care.  John 
Grattan,  who  passed  several  days  under  her  roof  about 
this  time,  relates  that,  "  when  her  children  were  up  in  the 
morning,  she  sat  down  with  them  before  breakfast,  and  in 
a  religious  m^juner  waited  upon  the  Lord' — which  pious 
care  doubtless  had  its  desired  effect  upon  them ;  for  as  they 
grew  in  years,  they  also  grew  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
blessed  Truth ;  and  since  that  time,"  he  adds,  some  of 
them  are  become  public  preachers  thereof"  Thus  cher- 
ished and  watered,  did  Peter  Gardiner  find  this  group  of 
young  "  olive  plants,"  when  he  entered  their  abode.  His 
visit  is  thus  described  by  some  who  were  present. 

"  When  he  came  to  Ury,  he  had  a  meeting  there  on 


1694.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


323 


Fourth-day.  From  thence  he  went  to  Stonehaven  on 
Fifth-day,  being  accompanied  by  most  of  them  of  Ury  ; 
and  there  he  and  Andrew  Jaffray  [who  had  accompanied 
him  from  Aberdeen]  had  a  good  oj^portunity  among  the 
people.  Thence,  we  came  that  night  to  Springhall ;  [a 
house  on  the  estate  of  Ury ;]  and  had  there  a  good  meeting, 
only  he  said,  he  felt  the  life  stopped  in  some  there,  who  would 
not  give  up  to  the  Lord's  requirings.  The  same  night, 
after  supper,  he  had  a  blessed  opportunity  with  Robert, 
David,  and  Patience  Barclay,  John  Gellie,  David  Wallace, 
and  Robert  Gerard  ;  —  and  Robert  Barclay  [aged  22  years] 
was  opened  in  a  few  living  words  of  exhortation  to  the 
young  people  then  present,  which  reached  and  melted  our 
hearts  in  a  wonderful  manner.  He  said,  it  was  himself, 
who  had  occasioned  the  life  to  be  stopped  in  the  foregoing 
meeting,  by  not  giving  up  to  the  Lord's  requirings  ;  and  he 
concluded  in  a  few  living  words  of  prayer.  —  Next  day,  we 
had  a  blessed  meeting  among  the  children ;  where  Chris- 
tian Barclay,  the  younger  [aged  14  years],  had  her  mouth 
opened  in  prayer,  to  the  refreshment  of  us  all.  That  same 
day,  we  had  a  more  general  meeting  at  Ury ;  —  and  on 
Seventh-day,  we  had  another  blessed  meeting  among  the 
children;  and  the  First-day  of  the  week  following,  vvc  had 
a  good  meeting,  where  there  were  more  people  than  usual ; 
and  Robert  Barclay  bore  a  living  testimony  among  them. 
Life  so  went  along  with  him  in  it,  that  it  reached  the 
hearts  of  many  of  them,  and  astonished  others.  In  that 
meeting  was  also  his  aunt  Jane  Molleson's  mouth  opened 
in  a  few  words  of  testimony.  That  same  night,  we  had  a 
blessed  meeting  at  Springhall ;  where  David,  [aged  12 
years,]  Catharine,  [aged  16  years,]  and  Christian  Barclay, 
Jun'r,  bore,  each  of  them,  a  testimony  to  the  Ti'uth.  Yet, 
notwithstandiug  all  this,  our  Friend  Peter  Gardiner  could 
not  obtain  ease,  but  felt  tJie  Life  stopped  in  one  there,  and 
at  last  named  the  |)e)-son,  and  desired  him  to  clear  himself. 


824 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1G94. 


And  so,  John  Chalmers,  their  teacher,  [aged  about  19 
years,  afterwards  an  acceptable  minister  in  Dublin,]  stood 
up,  and  said  a  few  words  by  way  of  testimony.  Then 
Peter  ended  the  meeting  in  prayer,  and  came  away  easy. 
—  Next  morning,  he  had  his  farewell  meeting  at  Ury :  and 
so  he,  together  with  Kobert  and  David  Barclay,  took  his 
journey.  But  as  we  were  parting  at  the  end  of  the  garden, 
Robert  Barclay  had  some  living  words  to  those  who  accom- 
panied us  there. 

"  We  came  to  Montrose  that  night,  where,  after  we  had 
rested  a  while,  we  had  a  little  meeting.  Next  morning  we 
had  a  meeting  among  ourselves.  About  the  middle  of  the 
day,  we  had  a  meeting  of  all  the  Friends  of  the  town ;  and 
some  other  people  came  in  :  both  Peter  and  Robert  Bar- 
clay preached  on  that  occasion.  We  had  also  anpther 
meeting  that  night,  where  Peter  fully  relieved  his  mind. 
Robert  and  David  Barclay  both  declared  the  Truth  among 
them,  also  John  Gellie  had  some  words  of  prayer.  The 
substance  of  the  testimonies  borne  in  the  meeting,  w^as 
much  to  this  purpose :  —  That  none  should  sit  down  in 
Zion  at  their  ease,  but  that  they  should  travail  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  Truth  in  themselves  and  others ;  that  none 
should  love  the  world  or  the  things  of  it  too  much,  nor  be 
covered  with  any.  other  covering  but  the  Spirit  of  Truth ; 
and  that  a  profession  of  the  Truth  would  not  do,  till  per- 
sons came  to  the  life,  and  possession  of  it.  Next  morning, 
we  had  a  blessed  farewell  meeting;  and  so  parted  from 
each  other  in  much  tenderness  of  heart.  Peter  Gardiner, 
David  Wallace,  and  their  companion  went  towards  Edin- 
burgh. 

"  After  they  were  gone,  Robert  and  David  Barclay,  John 
Gellie,  and  Robert  Geiard,  returned  to  Ury  that  night; 
and  next  day,  we  all  had  a  blessed  meeting  among  the 
children.  The  day  following,  we  had  a  glorious  meeting, 
where  Patience  Barclay,  [aged  19  years,]  was  opened  both 


1695.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FETENDS. 


325 


in  testimony  and  in  prayer,  to  the  refreshing  of  all  our 
hearts. 

"And  so,  the  Lord  God,  as  he  hath  begun  a  good  work, 
will  carry  it  on,  if  ive  be  but  faithful  to  him,  over  all  that 
the  enemy  or  his  instruments  can  do  to  hinder  it." 

Peter  Gardiner  having  proceeded  on  his  journey  through 
the  other  meetings  of  Friends  in  Scotland,  arrived  at  Car- 
lisle on  his  way  homeward :  whence,  as  it  is  supposed,  he 
wrote  an  epistle  to  Friends  of  Aberdeen,  in  which  he  spoke 
of  the  success  which  had  attended  his  labors  also  in  the 
west  of  Scotland — where  the  Lord  was  pouring  out  of  his 
Spirit  in  a  glorious  manner  —  and  besought  them  "in  the 
eternal  love  of  God,"  not  to  "  despise  the  day  of  small 
things,  in  tJiemselves  or  others." 

Having  faithfully  accomplished  his  extraordinary  mis- 
sion, it  now  pleased  his.  Divine  Master  to  take  him  to  his 
everlasting  reward.  In  accordance  with  what  he  had  ex- 
pressed to  John  Richardson  in  the  early  part  of  his  jour- 
ney, he  here  fell  sick  of  the  small-pox,  and  "  made  a  very 
sweet  and  heavenly  end."  John  Bowstead,  a  Friend  of 
Carlisle,  coming  into  the  room  where  he  lay  sick,  asked 
him  how  it  was  with  him ;  to  which  he  replied,  "Ah,  John ! 
I  am  sick  -in  body,  but  the  Lord  reigns  gloriously  in  Zion." 
He  expressed  a  sense  he  had  of  an  awful  day  to  come  upon 
the  nation  of  Scotland :  and  after  a  time  of  silence,  John 
Bowstead  being  moved  to  prayer,  Peter  after  him  prayed 
very  powerfully,  — "  That  the  Lord  Avould  preserve  his 
people  together  in  unity,  and  would  spare  and  overshadow 
them  with  the  wing  of  His  power,  until  the  storm  be  passed 
over."  And  the  power  of  the  Almighty  being  felt  over  all, 
they  that  were  in  the  room  were  melted  and  broken  into 
tenderness ;  and  some  who  had  fallen  from  the  Truth  being 
present,  were  also  tendered,  and  made  to  confess  that  the 
Lord  was  with  him.  As  he  lay  quietly  for  a  little  time, 
there  came  into  the  room  one  that  was  not  a  Friend,  but 
28 


826 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


under  convictions  in  his  heart.  Peter  was  so  full  of  the 
small-pox  that  he  could  not  see ;  but  asked  who  that  was, 
who  came  into  the  room.  Being  told  by  some  one  in  mis- 
take, that  it  was  a  Friend ;  "  Ah  ! "  said  he,  "  it  is  no  Friend  ; 
is  it  not  such  a  one  f  "  (  which  it  was ;)  and  called  him  near. 
He  then  spoke  to  the  young  man,  saying,  "  Thou  hast  no 
peace  in  thy  lying  down,  nor  in  thy  uprising ;  therefore,  I 
charge  and  warn  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  my  God, 
that  thou  speedily  return,  and  draw  near  unto  the  Lord, 
whilst  thou  hast  a  day  afforded  thee ;  for  now  is  the  day  of 
thy  visitation.  —  I  tell  thee,  thou  wouldst  be  heir  of  two 
kingdoms,  but  wilt  never  obtain  them  both.''  He  uttered 
many  other  weighty  expressions  to  particular  individuals ; 
and  dictating  a  last  message  to  Friends  of  his  own  country 
and  elsewhere,  he  declared,  "  I  have  SAveet  peace  with  Him, 
that  is  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  and  am  now  waiting  for  my 
Pilot  to  conduct  me  to  my  long  home." 

This  Heavenly  Pilot  at  length  arrived,  and  his  spirit 
was  conducted  to  the  haven  of  eternal  rest  and  peace. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

SAMUEL   BOWNAS    COMES   FORTH    IN   THE    MINISTRY  AC- 
COUNT   OF    HIS    EARLY    LIFE.  FRIENDS'  PEACEABLE 

TESTIMONY  MAINTAINED  DURING  THE  INDIAN  WARS 
IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

ABOUT  the  year  1696,  Samuel  Bownas  came  forth  as  a 
minister  of  the  gospel ;  who  was  afterwards  an  emi- 
nently serviceable  instrument  in  confirming  the  churches, 
both  in  England  and  America.  He  was  born  in  West- 
moreland, about  the  year  1676,  and  received  a  religious 


1696.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


327 


education,  his  parents  being  upright  and  zealous  Friends, 
who  suffered  much  for  their  faithfulness  to  their  Maker. 

When  a  child,  his  mother  often  took  opportunities  of  ad- 
monishing him  to  a  holy  life,  and  to  the  fear  of  God,  as 
the  only  way  of  obtaining  His  favor  and  blessing :  and  oc- 
casionally she  would  relate  to  him  some  circumstances  of 
his  father's  sufferings  in  times  of  persecution,  who  had  been 
removed  by  death  before  his  son  Samuel  was  a  month  old. 
And  when  she  took  him  to  meetings,  where  she  frequently 
had  a  testimony  to  bear  in  public  to  the  Lord's  power  and 
goodness,  he  would  particularly  notice,  even  when  very 
young,  the  tenderness  and  brokenheartedness  that  pre- 
vailed over  those  present,  and  would  inquire  of  her,  why 
they  wept  so  much,  and  why  she  wept. 

But  when  placed  out  as  an  apprentice,  though  with  an 
honest  sincere-hearted  Friend,  he  grew  up  with  very  little 
consideration  about  religion,  or  any  taste  for  it,  addicting 
himself  to  the  pleasures  of  the  times.  And  when  at  meet- 
ing, for  want  of  a  proper  engagement  of  mind,  he  often 
shamefully  spent  those  precious  opportunities  of  religious 
improvement  in  sleep ;  for  preaching,  of  which  there  was 
much,  he  took  slight  account  of.  Thus  passed  two  or 
three  years  of  his  apprenticeship,  with  very  little  inward 
sense  of  God  or  religion.  He  was  indeed  considered  a 
witty  and  sensible  young  man ;  (for  he  took  much  liberty 
in  conversation  ;)  but  often  on  his  bed  he  ruminated  on  his 
way  of  life  with  sorrowful  reflection,  and  yet  he  fell  into 
the  same  course  again  and  again.  Xo  one  could  charge 
him  with  any  gross  vice ;  but  what  he  gave  way  to  most, 
w^as  jesting  and  foolish  talking,  and  turns  of  wdt  to  pro- 
mote mirth,  which  the  apostle  tells  us  are  not  convenient ; 
(Ephes.  V.  4 ;)  and  Samuel  often  found  it  so  after  it  was 
over,  and  that  the  end  of  that  mirth  was  heaviness  of  heart. 
How'ever,  the  Lord,  who  is  plenteous  in  mercy,  even  to  the 
rebellious,  gave  him  a  remarkable  visitation,  which  doubt- 


328 


HTSTOUICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1696. 


less  he  remembered  with  gratitude  through  life,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  means  of  awakening  him  to  a  sense 
of  his  condition,  and  impressing  him  with  a  deep  convic- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart  and  life.  Being 
one  First-day  at  meeting,  Anne  Wilson,  a  young  woman, 
was  present  and  preached.  She  was  very  zealous,  and  Sam- 
uel looking  upon  her,  she  with  great  energy  pointed  her 
finger  at  him,  uttering  these  words  with  much  power:  "A 
traditional  Quaker,  thou  comest  to  meeting  as  thou  went- 
est  from  it,  and  thou  goest  from  it  as  thou  camest  to  it,  but 
art  no  better  for  thy  coming;  —  what  wilt  thou  do  in  the 
end  ? "  This  language  came  so  home  to  his  state  at  that 
time,  that  like  Saul  it  might  be  said  he  was  smitten  as  it 
were  to  the  ground,  being  pricked  to  the  very  heart ;  and 
turning  his  mind  inward,  he  cried  in  secret,  "  Lord,  what 
shall  I  do  to  help  it?"  A  voice  spoke  within  him,  "Look 
unto  me,  and  I  will  help  thee."  Then  he  found  such  com- 
fort to  flow  through  him  as  made  him  shed  tears  abundantly. 
From  that  day  he  experienced  the  Scriptural  assertion  to 
be  true,  that  what  is  to  be  hnovm  of  God  and  true  religion, 
is  manifested  within :  for  upon  this  eventful  circumstance 
his  conduct  and  even  his  countenance  became  much  al- 
tered, his  soul  being  bowed  down  under  heavy  exercise ;  so 
that  he  could  for  a  time  neither  eat  nor  sleep  as  he  used  to 
do.  Yet  his  work  never  succeeded  better  in  his  hands  than 
it  did  at  that  time,  nor  was  his  mind  ever  less  in  it.  He 
longed  for  the  next  meeting-day ;  and  when  the  hour  of 
meeting  came,  his  mind  was  soon  fixed  and  stayed  upon 
the  One  great  object  6f  worship  and  dependence,  and  he 
felt  therein  an  uncommon  enjoyment  and  satisfaction. 

Relying  on  the  Lord  for  strength  and  salvation,  who  had 
begun  thus  wonderfully  to  reveal  His  power  in  him,  his 
understanding  became  opened,  and  all  his  faculties  so  sen- 
sible, that  he  appeared  to  himself  another  man  ;  a  divine  and 
spiritual  sweetness  abiding  with  him  night  and  day  for  some 


1696.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FETEXDS. 


829 


time.  The  Scriptures  also  became  wonderfully  clear  and 
plain  to  his  view,  and  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  there  spoken 
of,  he  readily  understood  and  embraced.  He  came  clearly 
to  see  wherein  he  had  before  failed  of  the  grace  of  God,  in 
relying  on  a  mere  education  in  the  way  of  truth,  and  out- 
ward conformity  therewith,  being  thus  a  mere  "  traditional 
Quaker,"  instead  of  coming,  as  he  now  did,  into  an  earnest 
travail  of  soul  that  he  might  be  made  acquainted  for  him- 
self with  the  way  to  true  peace,  through  Christ  revealed  in 
his  heart,  and  operating  there  as  the  sanctifier  and  enlight- 
ener,  and  the  only  way  to  the  Father.  And  as  he  gave  up 
his  heart  to  the  cleansing  and  purifying  baptisms  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  abode  in  deep  humility  and  watchfulness 
unto  prayer,  he  became  gradually  prepared  for  service  in 
the  Lord's  church,  and  in  a  short  time  received  a  gift  in 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Going  one  day  to  meeting  as 
usual,  he  had  not  sat  long  therein  before  his  spirit  was  im- 
pressed with  a  very  solemn  weight,  and  a  few  words  were 
presented  to  his  mind,  accompanied  Avith  a  sense  of  duty  to 
give  them  utterance.  But  giving  way  to  his  own  reasoning 
powers,  which  suggested  to  him  that  it  was  too  early  for  him 
to  undertake  so  awful  a  service,  being  but  an  infant  in  re- 
ligion, he  was  not  faithful  to  the  divine  call,  and  the  bur- 
den of  the  word  was  taken  from  him.  Xow  came  a  feeling 
of  condemnation.  He  was  made  deeply  sensible  of  his  un- 
faithfulness, and  of  the  loss  he  had  sustained,  and  was 
much  cast  down  in  fear  of  being  entirely  given  up  of  his 
Lord  and  Master.  But  mercy  and  forgiveness  were  still 
with  Him,  that  He  might  bo  feared  and  obeyed.  When 
the  next  meeting-day  came,  Samuel  went  in  great  weakness 
and  fear,  and  sitting  therein  with  his  mind  deeply  exercised 
towards  the  Lord,  after  a  time  he  felt  the  same  concern  as 
before.  He  sat  under  this  feeling  until  the  meeting  was 
almost  over,  and  then  giving  up  to  the  renewed  call,  he 
rose  upon  his  feet,  and  delivered  the  message  wherewith  he 
28* 


330 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1696. 


felt  himself  intrusted.  The  joy  and  sweetness  with  which 
he  was  now  rewarded  were  inexpressible ;  and  the  next 
time  that  he  w^as  in  like  manner  required  to  stand  as  a 
spectacle  to  the  world,  it  was  not  quite  so  difficult  for 
him  to  give  up  to  the  heavenly  vision.  For  about  three 
years  however  he  did  not  speak  frequently,  nor  much  at  a 
time  ;  but  after  that  his  gift  was  enlarged ;  and  through 
obedience  he  became  an  able  minister  of  Christ,  to  the  edi- 
fication and  comfort  of  the  church  and  the  convincement 
of  many  seeking  minds. 

The  motives  inducing  him  to  undertake  the  office  of  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  it  will  be  well  to  remember,  as  they 
appear  to  have  been  perfectly  consonant  with  the  precepts 
and  practice  of  Christ  and  his  apostles :  viz.,  1st  a  clear, 
cogent,  and  convincing  evidence  of  a  Divine  call,  and 
heavenly  impulse  thereto  —  2d  an  indispensable  sense  of 
his  duty  necessarily  obliging  him  to  yield  obedience  to  that 
call  —  and  3d  the  sweet  returns  of  inward  peace  and  divine 
consolation  accompanying  his  obedience  therein ;  which 
greatly  conduced  to  his  confirmation  and  perseverance  in 
the  way  cast  up  for  him. 

To  the  performance  of  this  he  found  himself  measurably 
prepared  and  qualified ;  for  his  own  experience  of  the  love 
of  God,  and  of  the  operations  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  in  grad- 
ually purging  out  the  corruptions  of  his  own  heart,  had 
excited  in  him  a  Christian  love  to  his  fellow-creatures,  at- 
tended with  an  ardent  zeal  and  desire  for  their  conversion. 
His  preaching  was  attended  with  divine  authority  and  inno- 
cence, which  commanded  the  attention  of  the  hearers ;  and 
his  voice  being  clear,  strong,  and  distinct,  w^as  capable  of 
conveying  his  exhortations,  replete  as  they  were  with  sound 
judgment  and  doctrine,  to  the  ears  and  understandings  of 
a  very  numerous  auditory.  He  stood  much  upon  his 
guard,  as  his  gift  enlarged,  lest  through  self-love  and  con- 
ceit, he  should  depart  from  that  humility,  which  is  the  or- 
nament of  every  gospel  minister. 


1704.] 


tup:  society  of  fkiexds. 


331 


The  importance  of  a  faithful  adherence  to  the  peaceable 
principles  of  true  Christianity  even  in  times  of  great  ap- 
parent danger,  was  well  exemplified  by  some  circumstances 
which  occurred  about  the  year  1704  to  Friends  in  New 
England.  The  Indian  natives  of  the  country,  exasperated 
by  repeated  wrongs  inflicted  on  them  by  the  white  settlers, 
had  become  very  barbarous  in  the  destruction  of  the  Eng- 
lish inhabitants,  scalping  many,  and  knocking  out  the 
brains  of  some ;  by  which  the  country  was  kept  in  con- 
tinual alarm.  But,  as  Thomas  Chalkley  says,  the  great 
Lord  of  all  was  pleased  wonderfully  to  preserve  our  Friends, 
especially  those  who  kept  faithful  to  their  peaceable  prin- 
ciples. But  because  Friends  could  not  join  with  their 
neighbors  in  fighting,  some  of  them  were  subjected  to  im- 
prisonment ;  many  people  railing  and  speaking  very  bit- 
terly against  them,  and  wishing  the  Quakers  might  be 
cut  ofil  Among,  however,  the  many  hundreds  that  were 
slain,  the  same  Friend,  who  was  then  travelling  in  New 
England  in  the  service  of  the  gospel,  remarks  that  he  heard 
but  of  three  Friends  being  killed,  and  that  their  destruction 
was  very  remarkable.  One  of  these  was  a  woman,  and  the 
other  two  were  men.  The  men  had  been  accustomed  to  go 
to  their  labor  without  any  weapons,  trusting  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Most  High  in  a  faithful  maintenance  of  their 
testimony.  But  a  spirit  of  distrust  taking  place  in  their 
minds,  they  took  weapons  of  war  to  defend  themselves ; 
and  the  Indians  who  had  often  seen  them  without  any,  and 
had  let  them  alone,  saying  that  they  were  peaceable  men, 
and  would  hurt  nobody,  and  therefore  they  would  not  hurt 
them,  now  on  the  contrary  seeing  them  have  guns,  and 
supposing  their  design  was  to  kill  the  Indians,  shot  the  men 
dead. 

The  woman  had  remained  in  her  habitation  when  many 
were  fleeing  to  fortified  places.  Neither  could  she,  her  son, 
nor  her  daughter,  be  easy  to  seek  their  preservation  and 


832 


HTSTORTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1704. 


that  of  their  little  ones  by  such  means.  But  after  some 
time,  the  poor  woman  in  a  time  of  unwatchfulness  lost  her 
trust  in  the  Lord's  all-powerful  arm,  and  letting  in  a  slavish 
fear,  advised  her  children  to  go  with  her  to  a  fort  not  far 
from  their  dwelling.  Her  daughter  Mary  Doe,  was  one 
who  had  confidence  in  that  "Strong  Tower  to  which  the 
righteous  flee  and  find  safety,"  even  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jehovah ;  and  her  account  of  this  sorrowful  circumstance 
is  very  instructive. 

"  When,"  she  says,  "  the  cruel  Indians  were  suflTered  to 
kill  and  destroy,  it  was  showed  me  that  I  must  stand  in  a 
testimony  for  Truth,  and  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  I 
often  desired  my  mother  and  husband  to  sit  down,  and  wait 
upon  the  Lord,  and  He  would  show  us  what  to  do.  But  I 
could  not  prevail  with  him :  he  would  say,  it  w^as  too  late 
now,  and  was  in  great  haste  to  be  gone.  But  I  could  not 
go  with  him,  because  I  was  afraid  of  ofifending  the  Lord. 
He  would  say,  I  was  deluded  by  the  devil ;  so  that  my 
mother  would  often  say,  'A  house  divided  could  not  stand 
and  she  could  not  tell  what  to  do  ;  for  although  she  had 
most  peace  in  staying,  yet  she  had  thoughts  of  moving,  and 
said  to  me,  '  Child,  canst  thou  certainly  say  it  is  revealed  to 
thee  we  should  stay  ?  If  it  be,  I  would  willingly  stay,  if  I 
was  sure  it  was  the  mind  of  God.'  But  I  being  young,  and 
afraid  to  speak  of  it  so  high,  said,  '  Mother,  I  can  say,  that 
when  I  think  of  staying,  and  trusting  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  I  find  great  peace  and  comfort  —  more  than  I  can 
utter  —  with  a  belief  we  shall  be  preserved;  but  when  I 
think  of  going,  oh,  the  trouble  and  heaviness  I  feel,  with  a 
fear  some  of  us  should  fall  by  them ! '  My  dear  mother 
sighed,  and  said  she  could  not  tell  w^hat  to  do.  But  I  said 
to  them,  '  if  they  would  go,  I  should  be  willing  to  stay  alone : 
if  they  found  freedom,  I  was  very  willing ;  for  I  was  afraid 
of  offending  the  Lord.' 

"  But  still  my  poor  husband  would  say,  '  I  took  a  w^-ong 


170-i.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKIEXDS. 


883 


spirit  for  the  right.  —  How  should  I  know  ? — if  I  was  right, 
I  should  be  willing  to  condescend  to  him  ? '  Then  I  said,  *  in 
condescension  to  him  I  would  move ;  but  I  hoped  the  Lord 
would  not  lay  it  to  my  charge  ;  for,  was  it  not  to  condescend 
to  him,  I  would  not  move  for  the  world.'  After  I  had  given 
away  my  strength,  in  a  little  time  there  came  men  from  the 
garrison  with  their  guns,  saying,  they  came  for  us,  and 
thought  the  Indians  might  be  near.  And  then  away  we 
went ;  and  my  mother  went  in  with  my  brother-in-law^, 
although  I  persuaded  her  not  to  do  it.  But  oh,  the  fear 
and  trouble  that  I  felt !  and  I  told  my  husband,  it  seemed 
as  if  we  were  going  into  the  mouth  of  the  Indians. 

"  The  next  day  was  the  First-day  of  the  week :  and  our 
friend  Lydia  iS^orton,  coming  with  my  dear  mother,  in  her 
testimony  said,  there  was  there  that  was  very  near  to  her 
life,  that  was  very  near  death.  Oh,  then  I  was  ready  to 
think  it  would  be  I,  because  I  believed  we  had  done  amiss 
in  moving  ;  and  great  trouble  was  I  in,  and  told  Lydia 
thereof.  But  she  comforted  me  as  much  as  she  could,  say- 
ing, she  did  not  think  it  would  be  myself.  My  mother 
went  again  to  the  garrison ;  where  she  found  herself  not 
easy ;  but,  as  she  often  said,  she  felt  herself  in  a  beclouded 
( ondition,  and  more  shut  from  divine  counsel  than  she  had 
ever  been  since  she  knew  the  Truth.  And  being  uneasy, 
she  went  to  move  to  a  Friend's  house  in  the  neighborhood  : 
and  as  she  was  moving,  the  bloody  cruel  Indians  lay  by  the 
way,  and  killed  her.  Oh  then,  how  did  I  lament  moving ! 
and  promised,  if  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  to  spare  my  life, 
and  husband  and  children,  and  carry  us  home  again,  I 
would  never  do  so  more.  But  oh,  the  fear,  trouble,  and 
darkness  that  fell  upon  me  and  many  more  at  that  time ! 
Three  or  four  of  us  kept  our  meeting,  yet  we  sat  under  a 
poor  beclouded  condition  till  w^e  returned  home  again ;  then 
did  the  Lord  please  to  lift  uj)  the  light  of  His  love  upon  our 
poor  souls.    Then  I  told  my  husband,  although  he  had  built 


884 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1704. 


a  little  house  by  the  garrison,  I  could  not  move  again.  So  he 
was  willing  to  stay  the  winter  ;  but  told  me  he  could  not  stay 
when  summer  came,  for  then  the  Indians  would  be  about ; 
and  that  if  I  could  not  go  to  the  garrison,  I  might  go  to 
a  Friend's  house  near  it.  I  was  willing  to  please  him,  if  the 
Lord  was  willing ;  and  then  applied  my  heart  to  know  the 
mind  of  Truth  ;  but  it  was  showed  me,  that  if  I  moved  again, 
I  should  lose  the  sense  of  Truth,  and  should  never  hold  up 
my  head  again.  Still  he  would  say,  it  was  a  notion  ;  till 
our  dear  friend  Thomas  Story  came,  and  told  him  he  did  not 
see  that  I  could  have  a  greater  revelation  than  I  had  ;  and 
satisfied  my  husband  so  well,  that  he  never  more  asked  me 
to  go,  but  was  well  contented  to  stay  all  the  wars.  Then 
things  were  made  more  easy ;  and  we  saw  abundance  of  the 
w^onderful  works  and  mighty  power  of  the  Lord,  in  preserv- 
ing us,  when  the  Indians  were  at  our  doors  and  windows, 
and  at  other  times — and  how  my  dear  children  stayed  at 
home  alone,  when  we  went  to  meetings,  the  Lord  putting 
courage  into  them,  and  preserving  them,  so  that  no  hurt 
camo  upon  them.  If  I  had  not  feared  the  Lord,  and  felt  the 
comforts  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  I  never  could  have  stood  so 
great  a  trial,  when  so  many  judged  I  was  deluded  ;  but  the 
Lord  was  near,  and  gave  me  strength,  courage,  and  faith  to 
trust  in  Him  ;  for  I  knew  his  name  to  be  a  strong  tower,  yea 
stronger  than  any  in  the  world ;  for  I  have  often  fled  there 
for  safety.  Oh  blessing,  and  honor,  and  everlasting  high 
praise  be  given  to  the  Lord  and  to  His  dear  Son,  our  Saviour 
and  Mediator  Christ  Jesus  ;  Amen  ! " 

Though  the  Indians  were  at  this  time  frequently  shooting 
people  as  they  rode  along  the  highways,  knocking  them  on 
the  head  in  their  beds,  and  barbarously  murdering  many ; 
yet  Friends  travelled  in  the  country  in  safety,  and  had  large 
meetings,  and  the  good  presence  of  God  was  abundantly  with 
them.  The  people  generally  rode  armed  to  their  places  of 
worship ;  but  Friends  went  to  their  meetings  without  either 
sword  or  gun,  having  their  trust  and  confidence  in  God. 


1731.1 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


335 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

SHIPWRECK  AND  REMARKABLE  PRESERVATION  OF  SUSANNA 

MORRIS.  EXAMPLES    OF    ZEAL    AND    SIMPLICITY  IN 

IRELAND. 

SUSAN^s^A  MORRIS,  a  minister  of  North  America, 
about  the  year  1731,  felt  constrained  in  gospel  love  to 
pay  a  religious  visit  to  Friends  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. Having  the  unity  of  her  friends,  she  embarked  in  a 
vessel  in  which  Joseph  Taylor,  from  Raby,  in  England,  was 
returning  home  from  a  similar  engagement  in  America. 
The  occurrences  which  befell  them  on  this  voyage  were 
memorable,  tending  to  strengthen  her  faith  in  the  superin- 
tending care  of  Him  who  had  sent  her  forth  in  His  name, 
and  are  thus  mentioned  by  herself. 

"  Soon  after  I  got  out  to  sea,  I  dreamed  that  our  ship 
would  be  lost,  and  there  remained  on  my  mind  a  solid 
weight,  for  fear  it  should  be  so.  But  at  times,  I  thought  it 
had  been  as  some  other  dreams ;  and  yet  I  thought  it  safe 
to  dwell  humble  and  low  before  the  Lord.  I  again  dreamed 
the  same  ;  and  was  weak  as  to  being  fixed  in  a  belief  of  the 
truth  of  it,  until  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  favor  me  with 
his  goodness,  and  in  one  of  our  meetings  to  make  it  known 
to  me,  that  we  should  surely  suffer  shipwreck.  And  then, 
for  a  season,  I  was  in  trouble ;  but  oh !  blessed  forever  be 
the  name  of  our  God  ;  for  I  had  soon  a  good  answer  returned 
into  my  bosom,  of  our  preservation,  and  that  if  we  would  be 
faithful,  we  should  have  our  lives  for  a  prey.  I  hinted 
something  of  my  mind  to  the  captain,  who  seemed  somewhat 
startled  ;  and  lest  he  should  be  too  much  discouraged,  I  had 
it  given  me  to  tell  him,  that  I  should  see  him  safe  on  shore. 


836 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1731. 


It  was  some  time  before  it  came  to  pass  ;  and  when  I  hinted 
a  little  of  what  was  made  known  to  me,  to  Joseph  Taylor,  I 
found  that  it  seemed  like  idle  tales  to  him.  So  I  forbore  to 
go  further  in  the  relation  of  it  to  him  ;  yet  I  was  preserved 
so  as  not  to  stagger  in  my  mind,  or  disregard  the  manifesta- 
tions made  knoAvn  to  me,  from  Him  that  is  true.  And  as  I 
endeavored  to  dwell  near  Him  who  is  faithful  and  tfue,  my 
habitation  was  pleasant,  until  the  sudden  outcry  was  pro- 
claimed, and  nothing  appeared  but  the  destruction  of  our 
lives."  The  ship  had  struck  upon  a  rock  off  the  coast  of 
Ireland,  near  Dungannon.  "  Then,  for  a  time,  my  outward 
tabernacle  greatly  shook  and  trembled.  But,  blessed  be  the 
great  Lord  of  all  our  mercies,  the  time  of  trembling  was 
soon  over,  and  what  had  been  made  known  to  me  Avas  re- 
newed, that  the  all-wise  God  would  command  the  proud 
waves,  that  they  should  not  come  at  his  servants  to  hurt 
them ;  as  it  was  said,  '  Touch  not  mine  anointed,  and  do 
my  prophets  no  harm.'  And  so  it  was,  the  Great  God  did 
preserve  us,  I  believe,  for  his  own  name's  sake.  It  was  the 
time  called  Christmas-eve,  and  very  cold ;  and  we  had  for 
two  days,  little  sustenance  for  our  bodies ;  and  many  times 
our  heads  were  under  the  great  waves,  which  rolled  over  us 
after  she  sunk,  by  reason  of  the  strokes  she  got  on  the  dread- 
ful rocks.  Afterwards  she  drove,  until  she  settled  on  a  sand 
bank.  In  that  distress  I  had  no  help  of  man,  or  counsellor 
but  the  Lord  alone ;  and  thought  it  best  for  me  to  get  to  the 
upper  side  of  the  vessel,  and  fix  my  seat  by  the  shrouds, 
where  I  was  favored  so  that  I  kept  my  hold,  when  the  waves 
rolled  over  us  :  and  we  remained  in  that  wet  condition  about 
nine  hours,  in  a  cold  time  of  frost  and  snow,  before  any  of 
us  got  relief.  And  yet  I  was  not  hurt — the  Lord  is  pleased 
to  favor  his  heritage — though  many  of  the  ship's  company 
lost  their  lives,  some  perishing  with  the  cold,  and  others 
being  drowned." 

John  Griffith,  who  speaks  of  Susauna  Morris  as  "a  truly 


1781.] 


THE   rfOGIETV    OF  FKIEXDS. 


387 


evangelical  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,"  mentions  the  follow- 
ing additional  particulars  of  this  event,  narrated  to  him  by 
Joseph  Taylor.    "  The  ship  was  driven  on  her  broadside, 
yet  did  not  soon  break ;  but  the  sea,  running  high,  broke 
over  her,  and  several  of  the  crew  were  washed  overboard, 
and  drowned.    The  captain,  Susanna  Morris,  Joseph  Tay- 
lor, and  perhaps  one  more,  scrambled  up  to  the  upper  side 
of  the  ship,  and  held  fast  to  the  shrouds,  the  sea  frequently 
breaking  over  them.    Susanna  never  discovered  the  least 
impatience,  in  word  or  countenance,  all  the  time ;  but  Jo- 
seph Taylor  confessed  that  he  once,  in  a  flutter  or  impa- 
tience, did  say  to  this  effect,  *We  might  as  well  have  gone 
at  first,  for  we   shall  be   drowned.'    She   looked  upon 
him  and  said  nothing;  but  her  looks  were  a  sufficient  re- 
buke for  his  impatience  and  distrust.    After  they  had  held 
a  considerable  time  by  the  shrouds,  this  extraordinary 
woman  had  a  sense  given  her,  that  they  would  not  be  safe 
on  that  side  of  the  vessel  much  longer ;  and  although  it 
seemed  very  hazardous  to  move  and  fasten  to  the  lower 
side  of  the  ship,  she  urged  them  all  to  attempt  it,  believing 
it  would  be  the  means  of  their  preservation.    She  at  length 
prevailed,  and  they  moved,  in  the  best  manner  they  could, 
to  the  lower  side  of  the  ship ;  and  soon  after  they  had  fixed 
themselves,  there  came  a  great  swell  of  the  sea,  and  threw 
the  vessel  flat  on  the  other  side ;  so  that  if  they  had  not 
moved,  they  would  all  have  been  drowned.    A  priest  on 
shore  being  informed  there  were  some  alive  on  board  in 
great  distress,  came  down  to  the  beach  and  charged  his 
people  not  to  hurt  them,  but  use  all  means  to  save  their 
lives ;  which  if  they  refused  to  comply  with,  they  should 
never  have  their  sins  forgiven.    And  through  the  assist- 
ance of  a  merciful  Providence,  they  brought  them  safe  to 
land,  and  treated  them  with  great  hospitality."  "And 
now,"  says  S.  Morris,  in  concluding  her  account  of  this 
wonderful  preservation,  "  I  write  not  this  relation  because 


388 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1737. 


I  would  have  any  one  think  the  better  of  me ;  no,  that  is 
not  what  I  aim  at ;  but  that  the  poor  in  spirit,  or  weak  in 
their  own  eyes,  (if  willing  to  serve  the  Lord,)  may  take 
a  little  courage,  to  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  be  truly  willing 
to  serve  him  in  all  that  He  may  require  of  them." 

Great  was  the  zeal  and  exemplary  the  simplicity  of  many 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Ireland  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  James  Gough,  a  minister 
who  went  thither  about  the  year  1737,  has  testified  to  their 
holy  and  circumspect  w^alking,  in  terms  so  animating  that 
we  shall  do  well  to  ponder  the  example  thus  beautifully  set 
before  us. 

"  'God  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in 
them ;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  peo- 
ple. Wherefore  come  out  from  among  them,  and  he  ye  sepa- 
rate, saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing ;  and 

1  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a  father  unto  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty.' 

2  Cor.  vi.  16,  &c.  By  this  call  were  our  honorable  prede- 
cessors in  the  beginning  separated  from  the  spirit  and  ways 
of  the  world,  and  incited  to  refuse  touching  the  unclean 
thing,  or  whatever  sprang  from  an  unclean  source,  what 
persecution  soever  that  refusal  might  cost  them ;  knowing 
that  He  whom  they  obeyed  and  in  whom  they  trusted, 
would  carry  them  through  all  opposition.  This  they  expe- 
rienced, to  their  unspeakable  joy,  to  be  fulfilled,  and  testi- 
fied to  the  world,  many  of  them,  both  living  and  dying. 
In  those  days  the  meetings  of  Friends  were  more  eminently 
favored  with  divine  power,  as  they  lived  more  devoted  to 
Christ,  and  consequently  more  abounding  with  His  love 
■flowing  in  their  hearts. 

"I  remember  when  a  child,*  some  whose  very  counte- 
nances seemed  to  command  awe,  and  impress  observers  with 
*  James  Gough  was  born  in  the  year  1712. 


1737.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXDS. 


339 


serious  consideration ;  as  the  salt  of  the  earth,  seasoning 
those  amongst  whom  they  walked,  with  a  sense  of  tlie 
Truth  which  lived  and  predominated  in  them.  Those 
happy  men  and  women  left  the  Lord's  vineyard  (through 
their  faithful  labors  with  the  Divine  blessing  upon  them) 
well  fenced  and  clean,  (having  gathered  out  the  stones 
thereof,  )  and  abounding  wath  the  excellent  fruits  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  Christ. 

"At  my  first  going  [to  Ireland]  there  were  yet  living  in 
most  parts  of  the  nation,  Avhere  meetings  were  settled,  some 
of  the  good  old  stock,  both  ministers  and  elders,  who  loved 
God  and  mankind,  and  were  esteemed  and  beloved,  being 
kind  and  open-hearted,  as  well  as  faithful  and  circumspect 
in  all  branches  of  our  Christian  testimony,  closely  united 
in  tender  love  one  with  another  in  supporting  and  keeping 
things  in  good  order  in  the  church.  Their  23ious  care  here- 
in was  like  a  fence  about  the  flock,  which  kept  them  to- 
gether in  nearer  unity  and  greater  safety,  so  that  the  young 
people  in  most  parts  were  generally  trained  up  in  innocence 
of  manners,  and  in  plainness  of  habit  and  speech." 

In  another  place,  he  relates  of  a  friend  of  Kilconimore, 
named  John  Ashton,  that  "he  with  his  wife,  when  at  liberty 
[from  imprisonment  for  conscience'  sake]  constantly  at- 
tended the  meeting  at  Birr  twice  a  week,  generally  walk- 
ing on  foot  thither,  being  about  seven  English  miles  and  a 
very  bad  road,  wading  through  a  river  both  going  and  re- 
turning. In  w^inter  they  sometimes  had  the  ice  to  break  in 
crossing  this  river  ;  and  John  had  wept  to  see  the  blood  on 
his  wife's  legs  in  coming  through  it.  In  those  days  truth 
was  precious  to  its  professors,  who  also  possessed  it ;  and  no 
diflSculties  or  dangers  could  prevent  them  from  getting  to 
their  religious  meetings,  to  enjoy  the  renewings  of  divine 
love  and  life  with  their  brethren." 

The  same  writer,  as  a  lively  illustration  of  that  great 
truth,  that  "a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance 


840 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1776. 


of  the  things  which  he  possesseth,"  records  the  following 
simple  but  instructive  instance  of  the  mode  of  living,  de- 
voted ness,  and  hospitality  of  some  of  the  early  Friends ; 
showing  that  a  man  may  live  on  little  of  this  world's  goods, 
if  his  mind  be  kept  in  humility,  and  his  appetites  subjected 
to  the  cross  of  Christ.  "John  Goodwin,  of  Escargogh  in 
Monmouthshire,  lived  and  maintained  his. family  on  a  farm 
of  four  pounds  a  year ;  but  at  length  had  purchased  and 
improved  it,  so  that  he  reckoned  it  worth  six  pounds  a 
year.  The  first  journey  he  travelled  in  the  ministry, 
which  was  to  visit  Friends  through  Wales,  he  had  then  got 
of  clear  money  about  forty  shillings  in  all ;  and  he  was 
free  to  spend  it,  if  there  were  occasion,  in  the  Lord's  ser- 
vice, knowing  that  He  could  give  him,  or  enable  him  to 
get  more.  The  first  time  he  began  to  entertain  travelling 
Friends,  (most  of  that  meeting  being  gone  to  Pennsylvania,) 
he  had  but  one  bed,  which  he  left  to  them,  he  and  his  wife 
taking  up  their  lodging  in  the  stable." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  TRIALS  TO  WHICH  FRIENDS  WERE  SUBJECTED  DURING 
THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 

rpHE  breaking  out  of  hostilities  between  the  British 
JL  American  colonies  and  the  mother  country,  about  the 
year  1775,  which  resulted  in  the  acknowledged  indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States  of  America,  was  a  signal  to  the 
Society  of  Friends,  to  flee  to  the  strong-hold  of  faith  for 
safety  during  the  storm.  Many  experienced  brethren  fore- 
saw that  in  this  time  of  contention,  those  who  stood  firm  to 


177(1] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIEXD3. 


?A1 


their  peaceable  principles,  and  imitated  the  example  of  the 
ancient  Christians  in  resolutely  refusing  to  unite  in  war, 
would  be  subjected  to  great  trials:  and  they  earnestly  en- 
deavored to  strengthen  and  confirm  their  fellow-members 
in  bearing  a  noble  and  unflinching  testimony  to  the  peace- 
ful nature  of  Christianity,  even  when  property,  liberty,  and 
life  itself  were  at  stake.  Some  superficial  individuals,  nev- 
ertheless, in  various  places,  were  caught  by  the  prevailing 
martial  spirit,  or  induced  by  fear  to  relinc^uish  their  faith, 
and  to  trust  in  the  arm  of  flesh ;  but  generally  the  Society 
stood  firm  through  all  that  was  permitted  to  assail  it. 
Many  of  its  members  were  exceedingly  persecuted  by  one 
party  or  the  other ;  but  it  may  be  truly  said  that  the  Lord 
of  hosts  encamped  round  about  his  poor  afflicted  people  in 
their  time  of  deep  distress ;  and  even  during  the  greatest 
commotion,  a  remnant  felt  the  sweetness  of  His  love,  and 
the  calming  influence  of  that  voice  which  said  to  the  waves 
formerly,  "  Peace  !  be  still ! " 

Even  the  outward  circumstances  of  many  who  stood 
faithful  appeared  to  be  eminently  preserved  from  serious 
harm ;  whilst  a  different  result  attended  some  who  lost 
their  confidence  in  the  God  of  Truth.  One  instance  in 
New  York  was  remarkable.  A  family  descended  from  the 
worthy  Isaac  Penington  resided  in  the  city  of  New  York ; 
and  while  many  of  their  fellow-members  and  neighbors 
were  thinking  of  removing  to  Long  Island  and  other  places 
around,  the  female  head  of  this  family  could  feel  no  peace 
in  contemplating  such  a  step.  Accordingly  they  with  some 
others  remained  in  the  city  when  the  British  troops  took 
possession  of  it ;  and  while  those  who  had  retired  found 
themselves  more  perplexed  than  before  by  the  scouting 
parties  of  the  troops,  which  lay  all  around  the  neighbor- 
hoods to  which  they  had  retreated,  these  families  who  re- 
mained, were  preserved  from  injury.  A  great  part  of  the 
city  was  on  one  occasion  consumed  by  fire,  which  sur- 


342 


HISTOETC.VL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1777. 


rounded  the  dwelling  of  the  family  above  mentioned ;  yet 
their  house  Avas  preserved  unhurt  by  the  flames. 

The  next  year,  as  the  conflict  became  more  close  and 
doubtful,  the  enmity  increased  against  Friends,  who  could 
not  conscientiously  take  up  arms  in  any  cause ;  and  many 
of  whom  felt  restrained  from  using  the  paper  money  put  in 
circulation  in  order  to  carry  on  the  war.  Heavy  penalties 
were  ordered  for  refusing  this  money.  On  the  first  night 
of  the  year  1777,  Thomas  Watson,  of  Buckingham,  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  taken  from  his  home  and  family  by  a  number  of 
armed  men,  who  conveyed  him  to  Newtown,  and  detained 
him  forty-eight  hours  in  heavy  irons,  and  three  nights  with- 
out a  bed  to  rest  upon.  Mark  Miller  and  Thomas  Redman, 
of  New  Jersey,  were  imprisoned  soon  afterwards  for  reading 
in  their  respective  meetings  an  epistle  issued  by  the  Meet- 
ing for  Sufferings  of  Philadelphia,  in  which  the  members 
of  the  Society  were  exhorted  to  stand  fast  to  their  ancient 
faith,  and  not  to  let  the  fear  of  suffering  prevail  with  them 
to  unite  in  any  warlike  operations.  These  Friends  were 
confined  eight  weeks  in  Gloucester  jail ;  and  several  others 
were  imprisoned  the  same  year  on  a  similar  account. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  Ninth  month,  John  Pemberton, 
a  minister  among  Friends,  and  clerk  of  the  Meeting  for 
Sufferings, 'which  had,  as  above  mentioned,  thought  it  their 
duty  to  exhort  their  fellow-members  to  faithfulness  to  their 
principles,  was  arrested  in  his  house  by  three  officers  with 
a  guard  of  ten  men,  his  desk  broken  open  and  rifled  of  the 
papers  of  the  Meeting  for  Sufl^erings,  and  other  documents, 
and  himself  dragged  through  the  streets  to  the  Masons' 
Lodge.  His  brothers,  Israel  and  James  Pemberton,  John 
Hunt,  also  a  minister,  Henry  Drinker,  Samuel  Pleasants, 
Edward  Penington,  and  sixteen  other  Friends,  were  also 
arrested,  and  confined  •Avithout  any  examination,  notwith- 
standing their  demand  of  a  hearing  from  the  Council  and 
Congress,  under  whose  authority  their  liberty  was  taken 


1777.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


343 


from  them.  A  few  days  after  their  arrest,  an  order  of 
Council  appeared,  for  the  banishment  of  these  Friends  into 
Virginia,  and  they  were  desired  to  prepare  for  their  re- 
moval. On  the  ninth  of  the  month  they  were  conveyed 
from  the  city  in  wagons  towards  Reading ;  and  although 
they  had  obtained  writs  of  habeas  corpus  from  the  chief  jus- 
tice, the  assembly  overruled  them,  and  these  innocent  men 
were  conveyed  over  the  Susquehanna,  and  through  Mary- 
land to  Winchester  in  Virginia,  where  they  arrived  in 
about  three  weeks.  Here  they  were  often  treated  with 
great  harshness,  and  at  times  were  much  cast  down ;  but 
possessing  their  souls  in  patience,  and  relying  on  the  help 
and  jDreservation  of  their  Divine  Master,  they  frequently 
had  to  acknowledge  the  comforting  virtue  of  His  presence 
whose  favor  is  better  than  life,  were  made  sensible  that 
"  the  power  of  the  Highest  is  able  to  stay  the  wrath  of  man, 
and  preserve  his  dependent  people,"  and  were  at  times  en- 
abled to  bless  and  praise  his  holy  name.  They  held  their 
meetings  for  divine  worship  regularly  in  their  prison,  which 
was  a  private  house,  guarded  by  soldiery ;  and  were  often 
refreshed  in  sympathy  with  each  other.  For  a  time  they 
were  allowed  to  ride  or  walk  to  a  short  distance  from  their 
place  of  confinement;  though  afterwards  this  was  rescinded, 
and  they  were  kept  closely  confined,  sometimes  with  guards 
stationed  at  the  front  and  back  doors  of  their  quarters. 
During  the  time  of  comparative  liberty,  John  Pemberton 
attended  the  neighboring  Monthly  Meeting  of  Hopewell, 
where  a  deep  concern  had  been  felt  on  account  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  lands  in  that  part  had  come  into  posses- 
sion of  the  white  inhabitants,  and  a  fear  that  the  Indian 
natives  who  formerly  owned  them  had  not  been  fully  remu- 
nerated for  giving  them  up.  A  committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed on  this  important  subject,  which  now  proposed  the 
raising  of  a  fund  to  be  applied  for  the  benefit  of  the  de- 
scendants of  the  natives  formerly  resident  there,  or  any 


84i 


HTSTORTCAL   JEEMOTRS  OF 


[1777. 


others  where  it  might  be  truly  nsefuL  The  meeting  ap- 
proved of  the  measure,  thus  affording  a  striking  contrast 
with  the  unprincipled  conduct  which  was  prevalent  in  the 
community  at  large.  Two  months  after  this,  he  again 
attended  Hopewell  Monthly  Meeting,  in  company  with 
his  fellow-sufferer,  John  Hunt,  who  had  to  speak  of  the 
judgments  of  the  Lord  upon  the  country,  mentioning  that 
he  had  heard,  with  his  inward  ear,  a  voice  proclaiming 
mourning,  lamentation,  and  woe,  unless  the  people  repented 
and  sought  the  Lord ;  and  contrasting  the  balls,  revelling, 
and  dancing,  now  prevalent  among  the  people,  with  that 
humiliation  of  heart  which  ought  to  be  experienced.  He 
mentioned  also  an  apprehension  that  he  should  not  have 
the  like  opportunity  again  among  Friends  there,  though  he- 
wished  to  leave  the  event  to  Divine  Providence.  A  short 
time  after  this,  John  Hunt  was  taken  very  ill.  In  one  of 
the  solemn  interviews  which  John  Pemberton  had  with 
him  during  his  sickness,  his  spirit  was  much  contrited  and 
broken  into  tenderness,  and  he  expressed  a  thankful  sense 
of  the  continued  regard  of  the  Most  High :  but  added  that 
he  "  had  a  prospect  that  an  exceedingly  trying  time  would 
attend  Friends  as  a  people,  more  deeply  exercising  than 
they  had  ever  experienced  ;  and  that  our  deepest  sufferings 
would  be  from  some  of  the  same  family ;  that  many  would 
make  submission  to  this  and  the  other :  but  that  the  poor 
and  some  weak  ones  would  be  established ; "  and  he  desired 
it  might  be  noticed.  He  intimated  that  having  in  this 
time  of  great  exercise  made  a  narrow  search,  and  desired 
the  Lord  to  manifest  if  in  any  particular  he  had  done 
wrong,  he  could  not  find  anything  laid  to  his  charge ;  but 
felt  sensible  "  there  was  need  of  becoming  still  more  pure 
and  holy,  and  inwardly  refined  throughout."  Some  days 
after  this  he  seemed  better;  and  expressed  to  Israel  and 
John  Pemberton,  that  he  had  thought  much  of  some  ex- 
pressions of  John  Woolman's,  in  a  time  of  great  affliction, 


1778.] 


THE  SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS. 


345 


respecting  true  prayer:  that  it  was  deep,  and  the  place 
thereof  was  a  precious  habitation ;  that  it  was  not  to  be 
truly  come  at  in  the  commotions  of  the  mind,  but  in  pure 
stillness ;  adding  that  he  thought  he  could  at  times  say, 
"Not  my  will,  O  Lord,  but  thine  be  done."  About  a 
month  subsequently,  after  passing  through  much  bodily 
suffering,  and  submitting  to  the  amputation  of  his  leg,  he 
quietly  departed  this  life,  after  a  banishment  of  about  six 
months  from  his  house  and  near  friends,  being  the  second 
of  the  prisoners 'who  had  died  during  their  captivity. 

At  length,  on  the  18th  of  Fourth  month,  1778,  an  order 
came  from  Congress  for  their  restoration  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania authorities ;  and  returning  from  Virginia,  they  were 
at  Pottsgrove  discharged  from  custody,  and  reached  their 
homes  in  safety.  The  arbitrary  nature  of  this  transaction 
will  be  at  once  perceived  from  the  fact  that  these  innocent 
men  were  subjected  to  a  banishment  and  imprisonment  of 
nearly  eight  months,  without  ever  being  permitted  even 
the  form  of  a  trial,  or  being  able  to  discover  who  were 
their  accusers,  or  of  what  crime  they  were  supposed  to  be 
guilty. 

Many  were  the  instances  of  hardship  and  oppression  ex- 
ercised against  Friends  during  the  whole  time  of  the  war. 
A  Friend  in  Virginia  suffered  greatly  for  his  testimony. 
Being  drafted  to  stand  guard  over  part  of  the  army  of 
General  Burgoyne,  prisoners  in  Virginia,  he  declined  hav- 
ing anything  to  do  with  military  proceedings.  He  was 
accordingly  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and  sentenced  to  be 
flogged  with  thirty-nine  lashes.  Forty  stripes,  however, 
were  heavily  laid  on  him  in  the  presence  of  several  hun- 
dred spectators,  with  a  nine-corded  whip ;  but  the  Friend, 
though  much  lacerated,  was  supported  in  faithfulness  ;  and 
both  threats  and  persuasions  were  afterwards  tried  in  vain, 
to  move  him  from  his  constancy.  His  faithfulness,  under 
this  severe  suffering,  was  thought  to  have  been  instrumental 


8-1:6  IIT3T0RTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF  [1778. 


in  spreading  the  testimony  of  truth ;  the  procedure  gave 
great  disgust ;  and  one  officer  laid  down  his  commission, 
declaring  that  if  innocent,  conscientious  men  were  thus 
treated,  he  would  serve  in  the  army  no  longer. 

In  Carolina,  about  ten  Friends  were  dragged  along  by 
soldiers  when  about  to  engage  in  battle,  in  order  to  force 
them  to  fight ;  and  when  the  two  hostile  armies  approached 
near  each  other,  with  their  guns  presented,  ready  for  firing, 
these  Friends  still  refusing  to  bear  arms,  were  placed  in 
front  in  order  to  receive  the  discharge.  But  Divine  Provi- 
dence preserved  them  in  this  extreme  peril ;  for  falling 
down  flat  upon  their  faces  at  the  moment  the  firing  com- 
menced, the  discharge  passed  over  them ;  and  though  many 
were  slain  close  by  them,  and  the  party  who  had  brought 
them  thither  were  entirely  routed,  yet  they  escaped  unhurt. 

About  this  time  Moses  Roberts  and  John  Hughes  were 
on  the  same  account  cruelly  detained  in  confinement  at 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  more  than  eleven  months,  without 
form  of  trial. 

The  case  of  an  officer  of  the  American  army  is  worthy 
of  commemoration.  A  part  of  the  forces  lay  near  the 
Gunpowder  Falls  meeting-house ;  but  Friends  were  not 
thereby  deterred  from  holding  their  usual  meetings  for 
worship.  Among  these  troops  was  a  colonel  of  dragoons, 
whose  resentment  against  Friends  was  raised  to  such  a 
pitch  of  malice,  that  one  day,  when  traversing  the  country, 
he  came  to  the  most  extraordinary  and  cruel  resolution,  of 
putting  to  the  sword  the  Friends  who  were  then  collected  at 
their  place  of  worship  ;  considering  them  as  no  better  than 
a  company  of  traitors,  merely  because  they  steadfastly 
refused  to  take  any  part  in  war.  Drawing  up  his  men 
accordingly,  near  to  the  spot,  he  ordered  them  to  halt,  in 
order  to  make  arrangements  for  the  execution  of  his  dread- 
ful purpose.  But  at  this  moment,  an  awful  silent  pause 
took  place,  in  Vvhich  he  felt  his  mind  so  powerfully  smitten 


1781.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


847 


with  conviction,  that  he  not  only  drew  off  his  men,  but 
conceived  very  favorable  sentiments  of  the  Society;  and 
continuing  to  yield  to  the  convictions  which  were  from 
time  to  time  impressed  on  his  mind,  he  after  a  while  actu- 
ally joined  in  communion  with  Friends,  and  continued 
faithful  to  the  principles  of  Truth  professed  by  them. 

A  remarkable  incident  occurred  to  David  Sands,  an  es- 
teemed minister  among  Friends,  furnishing  incontestable 
evidence  of  divine  communication  to  the  mind  of  this  ser- 
vant of  Christ.  A  detachment  of  the  American  army, 
comprising  about  five  hundred  men,  was  stationed  near 
his  dwelling  a  few  miles  above  the  city  of  New  York.  A 
secret  uneasiness  pressed  upon  David's  mind,  and  his  wife 
felt  a  presentiment  that  some  trial  was  approaching  them. 
One  night,  after  they  had  retired  to  bed,  she  was  alarmed 
by  a  noise  about  the  house,  which  her  husband  thought 
might  be  the  rustling  of  the  wind  among  the  neighboring 
trees.  In  a  few  minutes,  however,  they  heard  some  one  near 
their  room  say,  "  Some  of  the  family  are  awake  —  we  will 
shoot  them  ! "  Their  sleeping-room  being  on  the  first  floor, 
David  and  his  wife  easily  escaped  by  the  window ;  but  in 
passing  through  it  they  were  discovered,  and  a  pistol  was 
discharged  at  them,  the  ball  of  which  grazed  David's  fore- 
head. Having  on  but  a  scanty  supply  of  clothing,  and 
the' night  being  cold,  they  suffered  severely  before  morn- 
ing. After  the  day  dawned,  they  returned  to  their  dwell- 
ing, which  they  found  plundered  of  all  the  cash,  about 
fifty  pounds,  most  of  their  bedding,  and  even  some  of  the 
furniture.  A  domestic  and  two  children,  who  were  sleep- 
ing in  a  different  part  of  the  house,  were  not  disturbed. 

David  soon  felt  that  it  would  be  right  for  him  to  go  to 
the  encampment.  On  his  arrival,  he  found  several  officers 
conversing  together,  who  thus  accosted  him :  "  Mr.  Sands, 
we  have  heard  of  the  depredation  committed  at  your  house, 
and  desire  to  know  what  you  think  can  be  done,  to  discover 


348 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1781. 


the  offenders."  David,  after  a  time  of  solid  consideration, 
informed  tliem  that  he  believed,  if  the  men  were  drawn  np 
in  rank  and  file  of  fifty  in  a  company,  he  should  be  able, 
by  following  divine  direction,  to  detect  those  concerned  in 
the  robbery.  The  officers  wondered  at  this,  thinking  it 
impossible  that  with  no  outward  knowledge  of  their  per- 
sons, he  should  be  able  to  point  them  out.  Nevertheless, 
they  ordered  out  the  troops,  and  David  commenced  his  re- 
view. As  he  passed  down  the  first  rank,  he  made  a  short 
pause  near  the  bottom,  and  then  went  on  to  the  next 
company.  Here  he  soon  paused  before  one  of  the  men, 
and  looking  him  in  the  face,  said,  "  Where  wast  thou  last 
night  ? "  He  replied,  "  Keeping  guard,  sir ;  and  a  very 
cold  night  it  was."  "  Didst  thou  find  it  so  when  at  my 
house  ? "  asked  David.  At  this,  the  man  trembled  so 
much,  and  discovered  such  evident  marks  of  guilt,  that 
he  was  immediately  ordered  out  of  the  ranks,  and  placed 
under  arrest.  In  like  manner  four  others  of  the  men 
were  discovered.  David  then  went  to  a  young  officer,  and 
asked  him  how  he  came  to  aid  and  accompany  his  men  to 
pillage  his  house  ?  He  denied  the  charge.  David  placed 
his  hand  on  the  officer's  breast,  saying,  "  Let  me  feel  thy 
heart,  and  see  if  that  do  not  accuse  thee ; "  and  finding 
the  heart  throbbing  so  that  it  could  be  felt  even  up  to  the 
neck,  he  called  the  other  officers  to  draw  near,  and  see  for 
themselves  how  his  own  heart  had  become  his  accuser. 

There  had  been  eight  concerned  in  the  robbery,  two  of 
whom  belonged  to  the  company  near  the  foot  of  which 
David  first  stopped,  and  should  have  been  at  that  very 
spot ;  but  they  had  deserted  before  the  search  commenced. 
The  greater  part  of  his  furniture,  and  about  one-half  of  the 
money,  was  returned ;  the  rest  was  reported  as  lost.  The 
offenders  were  brought  to  trial  before  a  civil  tribunal, 
where  David  not  appearing  against  them,  they  were  dis- 
charged,; but  the  officers  informed  him  that  by  martial  law 


1781.]  THE  SOCTETV  OF  FRIENDS.  819 

they  had  forfeited  their  lives.  They  were  brought  bound 
to  his  house,  and  he  was  told  that  he  should  determine 
their  sentence.  Upon  this  he  administered  suitable  advice 
to  them,  forgave  them  the  injury  they  had  done  to  him, 
and  perceiving  them  to  be  weary,  ordered  suitable  refresh- 
ment. Whilst  thus  returning  good  for  evil,  David's  wife 
said  to  one  of  the  men,  "Thou  art  he  that  shot  at  us." 
Her  husband  added,  "he  has  been  told  of  that  before." 
The  staff  officers  seemed  to  think  that  the  young  officer  at 
least  must  suffer  death,  because  he  should  have  been  an  ex- 
ample to  the  men ;  but  on  David's  earnest  entreaty,  they 
suffered  him  to  desert.  The  men  received  some  corporal 
punishment,  to  deter  others  from  similar  practices,  and 
were  then  restored  to  the  ranks. 

Several  years  after  this  occurrence,  David  Sands  being 
from  home  on  a  religious. visit,  a  man  came  up  to  him,  beg- 
ging his  pardon,  and  would  have  gone  down  on  his  knees 
if  he  had  not  been  prevented.  He  confessed  himself  to 
have  been  one  of  the  two  above  alluded  to,  who  had  de- 
serted, to  avoid  detection.  He  declared  he  had  never  been 
easy  in  his  mind  since,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  David 
would  forgive  him.  David  Sands  replied,  that  it  was  out 
of  his  power  to  forgive  sins,  but  he  hoped  the  Almighty 
would  forgive  him,  as  he  himself  had  long  since  forgiven 
all  those  concerned  in  the  robbery.  The  other  individual 
of  the  two  then  came  up.  He  also  acknowledged  that  he 
had  not  had  true  peace  since  he  committed  the  crime.  He 
appeared  to  be  a  reformed  character,  had  comfortably  mar- 
ried, and  had  applied  to  be  received  as  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  He  desired  that  David,  in  token  of 
forgiveness,  would  go  with  him,  and  partake  of  the  hos- 
pitalities of  his  house ;  which  he  did,  and  doubtless  had 
much  more  satisfaction  than  if,  pursuing  him  at  law,  he 
had  avenged  the  injury  received  by  prosecuting  the  offender. 
30 


350 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1671. 


CHAPTER  XL. 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  SOCIETY'S  TESTIMONY  AGAINST 
SLAVERY. 

A  T  the  time  when  the  Society  of  Friends  arose,  great 


X\-  numbers  of  slaves  were  hekl  in  bondage  in  various 
parts  of  the  world,  particularly  in  the  West  Indies,  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  Carolinas.  Some  of  their  owners  were 
among  the  early  converts  to  our  Society  in  those  lands,  and 
Friends  who  emigrated  thither  from  England,  inadvertently 
fell  also  into  the  custom,  and  purchased  slaves. 

But  there  were  not  wanting,  even  at  that  time,  faithful 
men  among  them,  whose  souls  yearned  for  the  greater 
prevalence  of  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  in  the  intercourse 
between  man  and  his  fellow-man,  and  who,  though  their 
attention  had  not  been  drawn  to  this  subject  so  closely  as  it 
has  been  in  the  present  age,  yet  felt  that  the  immutable 
principles  of  justice  and  equity  were  for  the  whole  race  of 
mankind,  and  that  the  divine  injunction  of  the  Saviour  of 
men,  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do 
ye  even  so  to  them,"  was  not  limited  by  any  varieties  in 
the  form  of  features  or  the  color  of  the  skin, 

George  Fox  earnestly  exhorted  Friends  that  had  slaves, 
to  treat  them  with  Christian  care  and  humanity,  and  to 
prepare  them  for  freedom.  In  addressing  Friends  in  Bar- 
badoes  in  1671,  he  desired  them  "to  endeavor  to  train  them 
up  in  the  fear  of  God,  that  all  might  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Lord ;  that  so  with  Joshua,  every  master  of  a  family 
might  say,  *as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the 
Lord.'  "  He  desired  also,  "that  they  would  cause  their 
overseers  to  deal  mildly  and  gently  with  their  negroes,  and 


1688.] 


THE  SOCIETT  OF  FRIENDS. 


351 


not  use  cruelty  towards  them,  as  the  manner  of  some  hath 
been  and  is ;  and  that  after  certain  years  of  servitude  they 
should  make  them  free."  And  in  a  public  discourse  spoken 
to  the  people  of  that  island,  he  used  this  remarkable  lan- 
guage:  "Let  me  tell  you,  it  will  doubtless  be  very  accept- 
able to  the  Lord,  if  masters  of  families  here  would  deal 
so  with  their  servants,  the  negroes  and  blacks,  as  to  let 
them  go  free  after  they  have  served  faithfully  a  consider- 
able term  of  years,  be  it  thirty  years,  more  or  less;  and 
when  they  go  and  are  made  free,  let  them  not  go  away 
empty-handed." 

William  Edmundson,  who  visited  Barbadoes  in  company 
with  George  Fox,  united  with  him  in  his  labors  on  behalf 
of  the  slaves.  He  also  addressed  an  Epistle  to  Friends  of 
Maryland,  Virginia,  and  other  parts  of  America,  in  which 
he  reminded  them  that  God  made  all  men  of  one  mould, 
and  that  our  blessed  Saviour  shed  his  blood  for  all  without 
distinction — that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  Christ 
hath  taken  away  the  partition-wall  of  enmity  between  one 
people  and  another ;  and  reviving  the  command  of  Christ, 
to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  have  them  do  unto  us,  he 
asks,  "  which  of  you  all  would  have  the  blacks  or  others  to 
make  you  their  slaves,  without  hope  of  liberty?  Would 
not  this  be  an  aggravation  upon  your  minds,  that  would 
out -balance  all  other  comforts  ?  So  make  their  conditions 
your  own ;  for  a  good  conscience  void  of  offence,  is  of  more 
worth  than  all  the  world,  and  Truth  must  regulate  all 
wrongs." 

From  this  time  forward,  many  bore  a  faithful  testimony 
against  the  sin  of  slaveholding.  The  attention  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  of  Pennsylvania  and  Xew  Jersey,  was, 
by  a  cogent  appeal  from  Friends  of  Germantown,  near 
Philadelphia,  drawn  to  the  subject  in  1688 ;  but  this 
assembly  at  that  time  felt  diffident  of  coming  to  a  positive 
judgment  in  a  matter  which  concerned  the  whole  body  of 


352 


HTSTORTrAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1717. 


Friends.  The  first  official  step  of  the  Society  on  the  sub- 
ject appears  to  have  been  taken  by  that  Yearly  Meeting 
in  1696,  when  in  its  collective  capacity  it  sent  down  advice 
to  its  members,  "that  Friends  be  careful  not  to  encourage 
the  bringing  in  of  any  more  negroes ;  and  that  such  as 
have  negroes,  be  careful  of  them,  bring  them  to  meetings, 
and  restrain  them  from  loose  and  lewd  living,  as  much  as 
in  them  lies,  and  from  rambling  abroad  on  First-days  or 
other  times." 

William  Penn  felt  and  mourned  over  the  state  of  the 
slaves ;  but  his  attempts  to  improve  their  condition  by  legal 
enactments  were  defeated  in  the  House  of  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  year  1700,  he  laid  before  the 
Monthly  Meeting  of  Philadelphia  the  deep  concern  of  his 
mind,  respecting  these  poor  people  and  the  Indian  natives, 
desiring  that  Friends  should  carefully  discharge  a  good 
conscience  towards  them  in  all  things  for  their  good ; 
whereupon  that  meeting  concluded  to  appoint  a  meeting 
for  worship  to  be  held  monthly  for  the  negroes,  and  advised 
their  masters  to  endeavor  to  be  present  with  them. 

The  advice  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  1 696  was  repeated 
in  1711,  at  the  instigation  of  Chester  Quarterly  Meeting, 
which  then  comprised  the  whole  southern  branch  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  as  far  as  Hopewell,  in  Virginia ;  and  the 
following  year,  the  Yearly  Meeting  still  feeling  the  subject 
to  be  of  general  interest  to  Friends  in  various  parts,  drew 
to  it  the  attention  of  their  brethren  in  England,  requesting 
them,  as  they  corresponded  with  the  other  Yearly  Meet- 
ings, where  the  slaves  were  more  numerous  than  in  Penn- 
sylvania, to  express  to  them  their  sense  and  judgment  on 
this  important  subject. 

About  the  year  1717,  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Rhode 
Island  had  the  subject  brought  before  it  by  some  Friends, 
who  had  felt  much  concern  on  account  of  the  importation 
and  keeping  of  slaves ;  but  no  decisive  minute  was  then 
made. 


1758.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


353 


In  1729,  the  fiiithful  Friends  of  Chester  queried  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  of  Pennsylvania,  whether,  as  the  members 
were  restricted  by  former  advices  from  importing  slaves,  it 
were  not  equally  reasonable  that  they  should  be  prohibited 
from  purchasrufj  them  when  imported;  and  the  Yearly 
Meeting,  uniting  in  this  view,  issued  advice  accordingly. 
This  advice  was  repeated  in  1735,  and  annually  renewed 
afterwards,  with  one  exception,  till  1743 ;  and  frequent  la- 
bor was  from  this  time  forward  extended  by  the  Monthly 
Meetings,  to  induce  those  members  who  were  in  the  wav  of 
buying  or  selling  slaves,  to  cease  from  the  unchristian  prac- 
tice. In  this  year,  a  query  as  to  the  clearness  of  Friends 
from  importing  or  buying  negroes,  was  added  to  those  here- 
tofore annually  answered  by  the  Monthly  Meetings. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  of  London,  in  its  printed  epistle  of 
1758,  "fervently  warned  all  in  profession  with  us,  carefully 
to  avoid  being  in  any  way  concerned  in  reaping  the  un- 
righteous profits  of  that  iniquitous  practice  of  dealing  in 
slaves,  whereby  one  man  selleth  another  as  he  does  the 
beast  that  perish eth,  without  any  better  pretension  to  a 
property  in  him  than  that  of  superior  force."  This  advice 
was  adopted  by  the  Rhode  Island  Yearly  Meeting  as  a  part 
of  their  discipline ;  and  a  query  was  also  adopted  the  same 
year,  whether  Friends  were  clear  of  importing  or  buying 
slaves,  and  whether,  when  possessed  of  any  by  inheritance 
or  otherwise,  they  used  them  well,  and  endeavored  to  train 
them  up  in  the  principles  of  religion. 

While  the  Society  as  a  body  was  thus  clearing  itself  of 
importing,  buying,  or  selling  slaves,  the  concern  was 
spreading  among  the  members  on  account  of  slavery  itself ; 
and  Friends  in  various  parts  felt  more  and  more  deeply  its 
utter  repugnance  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel.  Among  the 
foremost  of  these  were  John  Woolman  and  Anthony  Ben- 
ezet ;  the  former  of  whom,  in  1754,  published  his  "Consid- 
erations on  the  Keeping  of  Negroes,"  which  was  widely  and 
80 -^^ 


854 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1776. 


usefully  circulated  among  Friends.  And  in  the  same  year, 
the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Pennsylvania  issued  an  excellent 
epistle  on  the  subject,  the  substance  of  which  was  sent  up 
from  Philadelphia  Monthly  Meeting,  and  is  believed  to 
have  been  from  the  pen  of  Anthony  Benezet.  In  this  epis- 
tle. Friends  are  earnestly  reasoned  with,  and  entreated  "  in 
gospel  love,  seriously  to  weigh  the  cause  of  detaining  them 
in  bondage;"  and  in  1758,  the  Yearly  Meeting  again  ear- 
nestly pressed  upon  Friends  who  had  any  slaves,  "  to  set 
them  at  liberty,  making  a  Christian  provision  for  them, 
according  to  their  ages,  &c. ;"  and  appointed  a  committee, 
consisting  of  John  Woolman  and  others,  to  visit  all  such 
Friends  as  held  slaves,  and  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to 
set  them  free.  Slaveholders  were  now  also  declared  inca- 
pable of  being  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Society. 

For  several  years  the  subordinate  meetings  Avere  ex- 
horted to  labor  in  Christian  love  and  meekness  with  those 
who  still  continued  this  practice;  and  from  1767,  regular 
statements  of  this  labor,  and  of  the  success  w^hich  at- 
tended it,  were  forwarded  to  the  Yearly  Meeting.  It 
does  not  appear  that  many  were  disowned  for  purchasing 
or  selling  slaves.  The  earnestness  of  the  labor,  coupled 
with  forbearance,  had  the  happier  effect  of  inducing  the 
greater  number  to  abstain  from  doing  either ;  and  by  the 
year  1774,  this  Yearly  Meeting  may  be  said  to  have 
cleared  its  members  from  dealing  in  slaves.  A  further 
step  was  taken  this  year,  by  the  Yearly  Meeting,  direct- 
ing that  the  cases  of  such  as  still  persisted,  notwithstand- 
ing the  labor  of  their  Friends,  to  retain  their  fellow- 
men  in  bondage,  should  be  brought  up  the  next  year  for 
further  consideration  and  adjudication  by  the  body.  The 
practice  of  hiring  slaves,  on  wages  to  be  paid  to  their  mas- 
ters, was  also  declared  against,  as  promoting  the  unright- 
eous system. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  of  1776  repeated  the  injunctions  of 


1776.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


355 


former  years,  to  earnest  and  continued  labor  with  the  of- 
fenders on  this  subject ;  and  declared  its  sense  that  those 
who  could  not  be  induced  to  desist  from  the  practice  of 
holding  slaves  should,  after  such  patient,  persevering,  and 
ineffectual  labor,  be  testified  against  as  no  longer  members 
of  the  Society.  The  subordinate  meetings,  on  receipt  of 
the  minute,  appointed  committees  to  carry  out  the  views 
of  the  Yearly  Meeting ;  but  through  the  divine  blessing 
which  had  rested  on  the  endeavors  of  Friends,  the  principal 
portion  of  the  labor  had  been  already  accomplished,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  slaves  held  by  the  members  of  this 
Yearly  Meeting  had  been  set  free.  It  does  not  appear  that 
many  were  disowned  on  this  account;  and  it  is  believed 
that  by  the  year  1782,  the  Yearly  Meeting  had  cleared  its 
hands  entirely  of  this  unrighteous  practice. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  of  Rhode  Island,  in  1769,  appointed 
a  large  committee  to  visit  such  Friends  as  were  concerned 
in  keeping  slaves,  and  endeavor  to  dissuade  them  from  the 
practice ;  and  the  next  year,  enjoined  that  all  should  be  set 
at  liberty  that  were  of  age,  capacity,  and  ability  suitable 
for  freedom,  and  the  rest  should  be  well  treated,  educated, 
and  encouraged  in  a  religious  and  virtuous  life.  And  in 
1773,  they  further  declared,  "  that  Truth  not  only  requires 
the  young  of  capacity  and  ability,  but  likewise  the  aged  and 
impotent,  and  all  in  a  state  of  infancy  and  non-age  among 
Friends,  to  be  set  free  from  a  state  of  slavery,  that  we  do 
no  more  claim  property  in  the  human  race,  as  we  do  in  the 
brutes  that  perish."  Four  years  after  this  noble  testimony, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  aid  the  meetings  in  laboring 
with  individuals  for  effecting  the  discharge  of  all  who  were 
held  in  bondage ;  which  reported  the  next  year,  that  most 
of  the  slaves  were  manumitted  in  their  presence,  and  en- 
couragement was  given  to  hope  that  the  rest  would  all  be 
set  at  liberty. 

In  1782,  this  Yearly  Meeting  recorded,  doubtless  with  a 


356 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1787. 


feeling  of  thankfulness  to  the  Author  of  all  good :  "  We 
know  not  but  all  the  members  of  this  meeting  are  clear  of 
that  iniquitous  practice  of  holding  or  dealing  Avith  mankind 
as  slaves." 

The  Yearly  Meeting  of  New  York,  previous  to  1759, 
had  manifested  its  disapprobation  of  the  slave-trade ;  and 
in  1767  the  question  was  sent  up  for  its  judgment  from  Pur- 
chase Quarterly  Meeting,  whether  the  holding  of  our  fel- 
low-men in  slavery  were  any  more  consistent  with  the 
Christian  spirit,  than  the  buying  or  selling  of  them.  But 
it  does  not  appear  what  notice  was  taken  of  this  question. 
Four  years  after  this,  however,  a  communication  from 
Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  on  the  subject  of  keeping 
slaves  was  read,  and  copies  sent  to  the  Quarterly  Meetings; 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  visit  them  that  have 
slaves,  and  see  if  there  can  a  freedom  be  obtained  for  them 
that  are  suitable  for  it ;  and  such  as  are  not  set  free,  suit- 
ably instructed  and  provided  for."  And  in  1777,  after 
laboring  for  several  years  Avith  those  who  adhered  to  the 
practice,  the  Yearly  Meeting  directed  that  such  as  persisted 
in  refusing  to  comply  with  the  advice  of  their  Friends, 
should  be  testified  against.  The  answers  to  the  queries 
from  this  time,  state  the  care  exercised  by  meetings  in  these 
respects,  and  few  slaves  appear  now  to  have  been  left 
among  Friends.  A  solitary  one  was  reported  in  1784  and 
1785 ;  and  in  1787  it  was  recorded  that  no  Friends  of  that 
Yearly  Meeting  were  concerned  in  negroes,  as  slaves. 

The  first  step  taken  in  this  concern  by  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing of  Virginia,  was  the  adoption  of  a  query,  in  1757,  de- 
signed to  forbid  the  traffic  in  slaves,  and  to  enjoin  the 
religious  care  of  those  already  in  possession  of  their  mem- 
bers. But  their  minds,  like  those  of  their  brethren  in 
other  parts,  were  gradually  enlightened  to  a  full  view  of 
the  inconsistency  of  slavery  itself  with  the  benign  precepts 
of  the  gospel.    The  subject  at  various  times  engaged  the 


1784.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


857 


attention  of  the  body,  until  in  1773,  the  Yearly  Meeting 
earnestly  recommended  all  their  members  who  had  slaves 
to  give  them  their  liberty  when  of  mature  age,  declaring 
that  they  believed  "  the  time  is  come  when  every  member 
of  our  religious  Society  who  continues  to  support  or  counte- 
nance this  crying  evil,  either  by  continuing  their  fellow- 
creatures  in  bondage,  or  hiring  such  who  may  be  kept  in 
that  state,  should  be  admonished  and  advised  to  discon- 
tinue such  practices."  The  members  were  also  tenderly 
reminded  that  a  proper  sense  of  their  religious  duty  to 
these  poor  people  would  lead  them  "  to  advise  and  assist 
them  on  all  occasions,  particularly  in  promoting  their  in- 
struction in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
the  pious  education  of  their  children ;  also  to  advise 
them  in  their  worldly  concerns,  as  occasions  offer,"  —  "it 
being  the  solid  sense  of  this  meeting,  that  we  of  the  pres- 
ent generation  are  under  strong  obligations  to  express  our 
love  and  concern  for  the  offspring  of  those  people,  who,  by 
their  labors,  have  greatly  contributed  towards  the  cultiva- 
tion of  these  colonies,  under  the  afflictive  disadvantage  of 
enduring  a  hard  bondage ;  and  many  amongst  us  are  en- 
joying the  benefit  of  their  toil." 

A  deep  concern  prevailed  in  the  Yearly  Meetings  of 
1782  and  1783  on  this  subject;  and  in  1784,  as  some  indi- 
viduals still  declined  to  comply  with  the  advice  of  their 
Friends,  the  Monthly  Meetings  were  directed  to  extend 
such  further  care  and  labor,  as  they  apprehended  would  be 
useful ;  and  where  these  endeavors  proved  ineffectual,  were 
authorized  to  disown  the  offenders.  Three  years  after  this, 
as  it  appeared  that  some  still  continued  unfaithful,  the 
Monthly  Meetings  were  again  exhorted  to  enforce  the  dis- 
cipline ;  and  thus,  by  patient  and  continued  exertion  they 
cleared  their  hands  of  this  stain  on  any  Christian  com- 
munity. 

We  have  thus  seen  the  calm,  cautious,  and  Christian- 


358 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OP 


[1784. 


like  manner  in  which  this  great  subject  was  approached 
by  the  Society,  and  the  success  which  crowned  their  perse- 
vering efforts  to  free  every  slave  within  their  borders.  But 
they  did  not  stop  here.  As  the  Society  dwelt  under  the 
religious  exercise  which  had  been  brought  over  it  by  the 
participation  of  its  members  in  this  grievous  sin,  a  concern 
spread  for  making  reparation  to  the  slaves  themselves  for 
their  labor,  and  for  promoting  the  religious  welfare  of 
them  and  their  descendants.  Committees  were  appointed, 
and  funds  provided  to  assist  the  free  people  of  color  with 
their  advice,  and  to  secure  the  education  and  religious  in- 
struction of  their  children.  Religious  meetings  w'ere  fre- 
quently appointed  for  them,  w^hich  were  held  to  good  satis- 
faction ;  religious  visits  were  in  some  places  paid  to  their 
families,  and  many  instances  occurred  in  which  the  negroes 
w^ere  remunerated  in  money  for  the  services  which  they  or 
their  parents  had  rendered  whilst  in  a  state  of  slavery. 
By  Rhode  Island  Yearly  Meeting,  committees  were  di- 
rected to  be  appointed  in  the  Quarterly  Meetings,  to  labor 
for  an  equitable  settlement  for  their  past  services,  and 
Avhere  any  persisted  in  refusing  to  comply  w^ith  the  advice 
of  the  committees  in  this  respect,  they  were  to  be  dealt 
with  as  "  disorderly  walkers."  Although  disownment  was 
thus  authorized,  the  object  was  gained  without  resorting 
to  it  in  any  case ;  so  that  in  1787  the  effecting  of  a  satis- 
factory settlement  for  the  past  services  of  those  who  had 
been  held  in  slavery  in  that  Yearly  Meeting,  was  happily 
brought  to  a  close.  Something  similar  to  this  took  place 
within  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  ?^ew  York,  and  probably 
also  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Society. 

It  was  not  till  all  these  duties  were  performed,  and  this 
debt  of  justice  had  been  paid,  that  the  Society  felt  itself 
called  upon  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  slave  before  the 
world  at  large,  and  to  remonstrate  with  the  rulers  and  the 
people  against  the  iniquity  of  the  slave-trade  and  the 


1720.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


359 


■wickedness  of  slaveholding ;  the  first  memorial  to  the 
general  government  having  been  presented  by  the  Yearly- 
Meeting  of  Pennsylvania,  about  two  years  after  the  ex- 
tinction of  slavery  Avithin  its  own  limits.  From  that 
period  the  Society  has  continued  to  labor  with  diligence 
and  perseverance  in  this  righteous  cause ;  endeavoring  to 
enlighten  the  public  mind  respecting  the  enormities  of  the 
slave-trade  and  slavery ;  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  ex- 
tinction of  these  foul  blots  upon  the  Christian  name,  and 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  free  people  of  color. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

ACCOUNT  OF  JOHN  WOOLMAN. 

WE  have  seen  that  John  Woolman  was  one  of  the  most 
useful  instruments  in  clearing  the  Society  of  Friends 
from  any  participation  in  holding  their  fellow-men  in 
bondage. 

He  was  born  at  Northampton,  Burlington  county,  Xew 
Jersey,  in  the  year  1720;  and  before  he  was  seven  years 
old,  he  was  favored  with  an  experience  of  the  operations 
of  Divine  love,  tendering  his  mind,  and  producing  a  love 
of  retirement  and  religious  thoughtfulness  beyond  most 
children  of  his  years.  When  his  school-fellows  were  en- 
gaged in  play,  he  delighted  more  in  sitting  in  some  re- 
tired spot,  and  there  perusing  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in 
reading  which  his  mind  was  sweetly  attracted  to  seek 
after  the  state  of  purity,  which  he  was  led  to  believe  the 
Almighty  designed  his  servants  to  be  found  in. 

He  was  from  earlv  vouth  remarkable  for  his  tender  feel- 


360 


HISTORICAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1737. 


ings  and  sympathy  for  the  distressed,  whether  of  his  fellow- 
men  or  the  irrational  animals.  During  his  childhood, 
going  once  to  a  neighbor's  house,  he  saw  a  robin  near  the 
road,  sitting  on  her  nest  and  cherishing  a  brood  of  young 
ones.  As  he  drew  near,  she  fluttered  about,  and  betrayed 
her  anxiety  for  the  safety  of  her  little  flock.  But  John, 
in  his  childish  sport,  and  without  much  thought  of  the 
consequence,  threw  a  stone  at  her,  which  struck  the  poor 
bird,  and  she  fell  down  dead.  He  was  almost  immediately 
seized  with  horror,  on  contemplating  the  efiects  of  his  wan- 
ton act.  He  beheld  the  bird  lying  dead,  and  thought  of 
the  helpless  little  ones  for  which  she  had  been  so  careful, 
and  which  must  now  perish  for  want  of  their  parent  to 
nourish  them.  After  some  painful  feelings,  he  climbed  the 
tree,  and  taking  the  young  ones  from  the  nest,  destroyed 
them  all,  thinking  that  better  than  to  leave  them  to  pine 
away  and  miserably  die  of  starvation.  He  was  reminded 
of  the  Scripture  truth,  "  The  tender  mercies  of  the  wicked 
are  cruel ;  "  and  for  some  time  was  greatly  distressed,  and 
could  think  of  little  else  than  the  cruelties  he  had  com- 
mitted. 

As  he  grew  towards  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  age,  his 
youthful  nature  indulged  in  a  love  of  company,  which  be- 
came a  snare  to  his  better  feelings,  and  made  work  for  bit- 
ter repentance.  He  was  led  aw^ay  into  some  gayeties,  and 
though  he  did  not  commit  things  commonly  reputed  re- 
proachful, and  still  retained  a  love  for  pious  people,  par- 
ticularly for  his  religiously  concerned  parents,  yet  he  yielded 
to  the  temptations  of  the  enemy  of  his  happiness,  in  many 
things  which  afterwards  produced  great  remorse.  About 
the  age  of  eighteen,  the  judgments  of  the  Almighty  fol- 
lowed him  very  closely,  and  he  was,  in  looking  over  his 
conduct,  often  made  sad,  and  longed  to  be  delivered  from 
those  vanities  in  which  he  had  become  entangled.  At 
times  however,  his  heart,  being  strongly  inclined  towards 


.^1 


1739.] 


THE  SOCIETY  UF  FKIEXJJS. 


361 


them,  turned  again  to  folly  ;  then  sorrow  and  confusion  re- 
newedly  seized  him,  and  he  resolved  to  forsake  these  vani- 
ties. But  there  remained  in  his  heart  a  secret  reserve — 
his  will  was  not  fully  subjected  to  the  Divine  will — and 
consequently  his  resolutions  of  reformation  were  not  effect- 
ual. At  length  however,  through  the  merciful  continuance 
of  heavenly  visitations,  he  was  made  to  bow  down  in  spirit 
before  the  Lord ;  and  looking  seriously  at  the  means  by 
which  he  had  been  drawn  away  from  the  pure  truth,  he 
learned  that  if  he  would  live  in  the  life  which  the  faithful 
servants  of  the  Most  High  lived  in,  he  must  not  henceforth 
go  into  company  as  he  had  done,  in  his  own  will ;  but  all 
the  inclinations  of  his  natural  mind  must  be  governed  by 
the  manifestations  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 

Keeping  to  these  convictions,  living  under  the  cross  of 
Christ,  and  simply  following  the  openings  of  His  Spirit 
from  day  to  day,  his  mind  became  more  enlightened ;  his 
heart  was  often  contrited  before  the  Lord ;  an  unspeakable 
change  was  wrought  in  him  from  the  unregenerate  nature ; 
and  universal  love  to  his  fellow-creatures,  attending  the 
true  love  and  fear  of  his  Creator,  became  more  and  more 
the  clothing  of  his  spirit.  He  still  found  himself  often  en- 
compassed with  great  weakness  and  liability  to  temptation ; 
and  therefore  frequently  withdrawing  into  private  places, 
he  besought  the  Lord  with  tears,  to  enable  him  to  overcome 
temptation ;  and  His  gracious  ear  was  open  to  his  cry. 

After  a  while,  his  former  acquaintance  ceased  to  expect 
him  as  one  of  their  company,  and  he  began  to  be  known  to 
some  whose  conversation  was  helpful  to  him.  The  tender- 
ness of  his  spirit  increased,  and  his  mind  became  still  more 
strongly  engaged  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-creatures.  He 
went  to  religious  meetings  in  an  awful  frame  of  mind,  and 
endeavored  when  there  to  obtain  an  inward  acquaintance 
with  the  language  of  the  true  Shepherd.  One  day,  under 
a  strong  exercise  of  spirit,  he  ventured  to  stand  up  in  a 
31 


862 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1742. 


meeting  and  express  a  feAV  words ;  but  not  keeping  to  the 
divine  opening,  he  said  more  than  was  required  of  him ; 
and  soon  becoming  sensible  of  his  error,  it  was  a  source  of 
great  affliction  to  him  for  several  wrecks.  He  w^as  however 
at  length  favored  with  a  sense  of  forgiveness ;  and  some 
time  afterwards,  again  feeling  called  upon  to  say  a  few 
words,  in  the  spring  of  Divine  love,  he  was  faithful  to  the 
requisition,  kept  to  his  Guide,  and  found  peace.  And 
being  now  humbled  and  disciplined  under  the  cross,  his 
understanding  became  more  enlightened  to  distinguish  the 
promptings  of  the  pure  Spirit  in  the  heart,  which  some- 
times taught  him  to  wait  in  silence  for  many  weeks  to- 
gether, until  he  felt  that  to  arise,  which  prepares  the  crea- 
ture "to  stand  like  a  trumpet,"  through  which  the  Lord 
speaks  to  his  flock.  He  was  thus  taught  to  watch  the  pure 
opening  of  the  spring  of  Gospel  ministry ;  and  also  to  take 
heed,  lest,  while  he  was  standing  to  speak,  his  own  will 
should  get  uppermost,  and  cause  him  to  utter  words  from 
worldly  wisdom,  without  the  right  authority.  He  w^as  then 
about  twenty- two  years  of  age. 

In  the  management  of  his  outward  affairs,  he  found  this 
inward  monitor  a  true  support  and  source  of  safety ;  and 
he  felt  renewed  solicitude  that  he  might  in  all  things  act 
from  an  inward  principle  of  virtue,  and  pursue  worldly 
business  no  further  than  Truth  opened  his  way  therein. 
His  employer  had  a  negro  slave ;  and  selling  her,  desired 
John  to  write  a  bill  of  sale.  The  thing  was  sudden,  as  the 
man  who  bought  her  was  waiting;  and  though  the  thought 
of  it  felt  uneasy  to  him,  yet  considering  that  he  was  hired, 
and  that  the  purchaser  was  also  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  through  weakness  he  gave  way,  and  wrote  the 
deed.  But  at  the  executing  of  it,  he  became  so  much  dis- 
tressed, that  he  told  the  parties,  he  believed  slave-keeping 
was  a  practice  inconsistent  with  the  Christian  religion. 
Some  time  after  this,  another  Friend  asked  him  to  write  a 


1742.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS 


363 


deed  of  conveyance  of  a  slave.  But  he  now  attended  to 
his  scruples,  and  told  the  person,  he  was  not  easy  to  write 
it ;  for  though  many  kept  slaves,  he  still  believed  the  prac- 
tice was  not  right. 

From  this  time,  his  views  appear  to  have  been  very 
clear,  respecting  the  entire  inconsistency  of  slaveholdiug 
with  the  pure  religion  of  Christ ;  and  he  was  often  led, 
under  the  constraining  love  of  the  Father  of  all,  to  plead 
with  those  of  his  fellow-members,  and  of  other  communi- 
ties also,  whose  attention  had  not  at  that  time  been  suffi- 
ciently directed  to  the  subject,  to  enable  them  to  see  its 
iniquity.  And  laboring  as  he  did  in  great  tenderness,  and 
under  true  religious  concern,  his  efforts  were  blessed,  and 
many  were  convinced  of  the  sin  of  slavery,  and  set  their 
captives  free. 

But  his  mind  was  not  so  fully  engrossed  with  this  im- 
portant subject  as  to  divert  his  attention  from  his  other  re- 
ligious duties.  He  was  a  zealous  advocate  for  true  ancient 
simplicity.  His  mind,  through  the  power  of  Truth,  being 
much  weaned  from  the  desire  of  outward  greatness,  he 
learned  to  be  content  with  real  conveniences,  that  were 
not  costly ;  so  that  a  way  of  life  free  from  much  entangle- 
ment, appeared  to  him  to  be  the  best,  though  the  income 
might  be  small.  He  had  several  offers  of  business  that  ap- 
peared profitable ;  but  did  not  see  his  way  clear  to  accept 
of  them,  believing  the  business  proposed  would  be  attended 
w  ith  more  care  and  cumber  than  it  was  best  for  him  to 
engage  in.  He  saw  that  an  humble  man,  with  the  Lord's 
blessing,  might  live  on  little;  and  that  wdiere  the  heart 
was  set  on  greatness,  success  in  business  did  not  satisfy  the 
craving ;  but  that  commonly  with  an  increase  of  wealth, 
the  desire  for  wealth  increased.  He  was  solicitous  so  to 
pass  his  time,  that  nothing  might  hinder  him  from  the  most 
steady  attention  to  the  voice  of  the  true  Shepherd. 

He  was  often  engaged  from  home  as  a  minister  of  the 


864 


IIISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1762. 


gospel,  to  the  edification  and  comfort  of  the  chnrches  where 
he  travelled  ;  mid  was  greatly  concerned  to  exhort  his  fel- 
low professors  to  a  self-denying  life,  and  an  inward  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Most  High.  The  preservation  of  the  members 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  this  great  feature  of  true 
Christianity,  was  a  constant  subject  of  his  solicitude,  and 
he  took  care  that  his  own  life  and  conversation  should  not 
prove  a  stumbling-block  in  this  respect  to  the  most  tender 
seeker  after  truth. 

In  the  year  1754,  as  we  have  seen,  he  published  the  first 
part  of  his  "  Considerations  on  the  Keeping  of  Negroes ; 
recommended  to  the  professors  of  Christianity  of  every 
denomination."  In  this  essay  he  commences  by  stating 
the  great  position,  that  religion  is  the  ground  of  universal 
brotherhood,  removing  that  spirit  which  would  say,  in  a 
consciousness  of  superior  advantages,  "Stand  by  thyself, 
come  not  near  me ;  for  I  am  holier  than  thou."  He  pro- 
ceeds to  show  that  the  love  of  the  Father  of  all.  is  universal, 
and  that  the  heart  influenced  thereby,  becomes  enlarged  to- 
wards all  mankind — that  in  humbly  applying  to  God  for 
wisdom,  our  judgment  may  be  enabled  to  discern  the  dif- 
ference between  right  and  wrong — that  the  golden  rule 
"  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them,"  is  applicable  to  all  men — that  the  pur- 
chase of  a  man  who  has  never  forfeited  his  right  to  liberty 
does  not  by  any  means  deprive  him  of  this  natural  right — 
and  that  if  we  cherish  motives  of  self-interest  at  variance 
with  the  general  welfare  of  the  great  brotherhood  of  man- 
kind, we  shall  be  unable  to  answer  the  Almighty,  when  He 
ariseth  "  to  make  inquisition  for  blood."  The  second  part 
was  published  in  1762 ;  in  which  he  dilates  on  some  argu- 
ments briefly  noticed  in  the  former  essay,  combats  the  in- 
ferences deduced  by  some  from  the  instances  of  a  kind  of 
servitude  existing  among  the  Hebrews — gives  some  ac- 
count of  the  horrors  of  the  slave-trade — and  shows  that  if 


1762.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS* 


365 


we  claim  any  right  of  possession  in  these  people  as  the  chil- 
dren of  slaves,  we  build  on  the  foundation  laid  by  those 
who  made  slaves  of  their  ancestors,  and  thus  sanction 
this  grievous  and  crying  wickedness.  He  admits  that 
there  may  be  difficulties  met  Avith  in  emancipating  the 
negroes;  but  inasmuch  as  we  are  greatly  indebted  to 
them  for  their  unrequited  services,  we  must  patiently  sub- 
mit to  some  inconvenience,  and  while  the  evil-doer  might 
be  restrained  or  punished,  we  must  not  forget  the  right 
of  the  innocent  to  his  liberty :  and  he  thus  beautifully 
draws  towards  a  conclusion,  with  religion  the  end,  as  it  was 
the  beginning  and  foundation  of  his  argument.  "  There  is 
a  principle,  which  is  pure,  placed  in  the  human  mind, 
which  hath  had  different  names  —  it  is  however  pure  and 
proceeds  from  God.  It  is  deep  and  inward,  confined  to  no 
forms  of  religion,  nor  excluded  from  any,  where  the  heart 
stands  in  perfect  sincerity.  In  whomsoever  this  takes  root 
and  grows,  of  what  nation  soever,  they  become  brethren,  in 
the  best  sense  of  the  expression."  —  "Whoever  attains  to 
perfect  goodness  and  remains  under  the  melting  influence 
of  it,  finds  a  path  unknown  to  many,  and  sees  the  necessity 
to  lean  upon  the  arm  of  Divine  strength,  and  dwell  alone, 
or  with  a  few  in  the  right,  committing  their  cause  to  Him 
who  is  a  refuge  for  his  people  in  all  their  troubles."  — 
"  Negroes  are  our  fellow-creatures,  and  their  present  condi- 
tion amongst  us  demands  our  serious  consideration.  We 
know  not  Avhen  those  scales  in  which  mountains  are 
weighed  may  turn.  The  Parent  of  mankind  is  gracious — 
his  care  is  over  his  smallest  creatures — and  a  multitude  of 
men  escape  not  his  notice." — "He  seeth  their  affliction, 
and  looketh  upon  the  exaltation  of  the  oppressor.  He 
turns  the  channels  of  power,  humbles  the  most  haughty 
people,  and  gives  deliverance  to  the  oppressed,  at  such 
periods  as  are  consistent  with  his  infinite  justice  and 
goodness." 
31  * 


366 


HISTOEICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1759. 


For  several  years  he  was  much  engaged,  both  as  an  indi^ 
vidual,  and  as  a  member  of  various  committees  appointed 
by  the  church,  in  exhorting  his  fellow-members  to  clear  their 
hands  of  this  crying  evil ;  and  his  labors  were  blessed  with 
much  success.  In  company  with  John  Churchman  he  vis- 
ited many  slaveholders  in  Philadelphia  and  its  neighbor- 
hood, in  1759;  which  service  he  describes  as  "a  time  of 
deep  exercise,  looking  often  to  the  Lord  for  his  assistance; 
who,  in  unspeakable  kindness,  favored  us  with  the  influence 
of  that  spirit,  which  crucifies  to  the  greatness  and  splendor 
of  this  world,  and  enabled  us  to  go  through  some  heavy 
labors,  in  which  w^e  found  peace — and  with  thankfulness  to 
our  Heavenly  Father,!  may  say  that  Divine  love,  and  a  true 
sympathizing  tenderness  of  heart,  prevailed  at  times  in  this 
service."  In  this  acknowledgment  we  see  the  true  temper 
of  mind  described,  in  which  our  efforts  in  promoting  this 
righteous  cause  should  ever  be  carried  on ;  not  with  the 
heated  zeal  of  man's  natural  will  —  thinking  with  Saul  that 
we  may  be  "doing  God  service" — but  in  the  peaceable 
and  gentle  spirit  of  the  Lamb,  seeking  the  welfare  and  con- 
vincement  of  all,  and  stepping  forward  according  to  the 
pure  pointings  of  the  heavenly  finger. 

His  manner  of  proceeding  in  these  visits  may  be  still 
further  elucidated  by  the  following  description  of  an  exer- 
cise which  came  over  him  in  Rhode  Island.  "  The  Yearly 
Meeting,"  says  he,  "  being  now  over,  there  remained  on  my 
mind  a  secret,  though  heavy  exercise,  in  regard  to  some 
leading  active  members  about  Newport,  being  in  the  prac- 
tice of  slave-keeping.  This  I  mentioned  to  two  ancient 
Friends  who  came  out  of  the  country,  and  proposed  to 
them,  if  way  opened,  to  have  some  conversation  with  those 
Friends :  and  thereupon,  one  of  those  country  Friends  and 
myself  consulted  one  of  the  most  noted  elders  who  had 
slaves ;  and  he,  in  a  respectful  manner,  encouraged  me  to 
proceed  to  clear  myself  of  what  lay  upon  me.    I  had  had, 


1763.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


367 


near  the  beginning  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  a  private  con- 
ference with  this  elder  and  his  wife,  concerning  theirs ;  so 
that  the  way  seemed  clear  to  me,  to  advise  with  him  about 
the  manner  of  proceeding.  I  told  him,  I  was  free  to  have 
a  conference  with  them  all  together  in  a  private  house ;  or 
if  he  thought  they  would  take  it  unkind  to  be  asked  to 
come  together,  and  to  be  spoken  with  in  the  hearing  of 
each  other,  I  was  free  to  spend  some  time  among  them,  and 
visit  them  all  in  their  own  houses.  He  expressed  his  liking 
to  the  first  proposal,  not  doubting  their  willingness  to  come 
together ;  and  as  I  proposed  a  visit  to  ministers,  elders,  and 
overseers  only,  he  named  some  others,  who  he  desired  might 
be  present  also.  As  a  careful  messenger  was  wanted  to  ac- 
quaint them  in  a  proper  manner,  he  offered  to  go  to  all 
their  houses  to  open  the  matter  to  them ;  and  did  so. 
About  the  eighth  hour  next  morning,  we  met  in  the  meet- 
ing-house chamber — when,  after  a  short  time  of  retirement, 
I  acquainted  them  with  the  steps  I  had  taken  in  procuring 
that  meeting,  opened  the  concern  I  was  under,  and  we  pro- 
ceeded to  a  free  conference  on  the  subject.  My  exercise 
was  heavy,  and  /  ivas  deeply  boived  in  spirit  before  the 
Lord ;  who  was  pleased  to  favor  w' ith  the  seasoning  virtue 
of  Truth,  which  wrought  a  tenderness  amongst  us ;  and  the 
subject  was  mutually  handled  in  a  calm  and  peaceable 
spirit.  At  length,  feeling  my  mind  released  from  the  bur- 
den which  I  had  been  under,  I  took  my  leave  of  them  in 
a  good  degree  of  satisfaction." 

In  1763,  under  gospel  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Indian  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  he  paid  a  religious  visit  to 
the  Indians  residing  about  Wyoming  and  AVehaloosing  on 
the  Susquehanna  River,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  city  of  Philadelphia ;  in  which  visit  he  was  drawn  into 
near  sympathy  with  these  poor  people,  and  qualified  at 
times  by  his  divine  Master,  to  impart  counsel,  and  direct 
tliem  to  that  unerring  Guide  in  the  secret  of  the  heart, 


868 


HTSTOIIIGAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1763. 


which  would  lead  all  men,  without  distinction  of  color,  to 
a  saving  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  their  Maker  and  their 
Redeemer.  He  often  spoke  to  them  through  interpreters ; 
but  on  one  occasion,  feeling  his  mind  covered  with  the 
spirit  of  prayer,  he  expressed  his  willingness  for  them  to 
omit  interpreting.  The  meeting  ended  with  feelings  of  so- 
lemnity ;  and  before  the  people  went  away,  one  of  the  In- 
dians who  had  been  zealously  laboring  for  a  reformation 
among  them,  remarked  to  the  interpreter,  "  I  love  to  feel 
where  words  come  from  ; "  thus  manifesting  that  though  the 
language  was  foreign,  yet  there  was  a  savor  accompany- 
ing this  heaven-prompted  prayer,  which  had  met  a  sym- 
pathetic feeling  in  the  mind  of  this  simple  child  of  the 
forest. 

Another  Christian  concern  which  came  upon  him  this 
year,  was  occasioned  by  a  juggler  coming  to  Mount  Holly, 
the  place  of  his  residence,  and  attracting  many  of  the  in- 
habitants to  a  certain  public  house  to  see  his  foolish  tricks. 
He  says,  "  I  heard  of  it  the  next  day,  and  understanding 
that  the  show  was  to  be  continued,  and  the  people  to  meet 
about  sunset,  I  felt  an  exercise  on  that  account.  So  I  went 
to  the  public  house  in  the  evening,  and  told  the  man  of 
the  house  that  I  had  an  inclination  to  spend  part  of  the 
evening  there ;  with  which  he  signified  that  he  was  content. 
Then  sitting  down  by  the  door,  I  spoke  to  the  people  as 
they  came  together,  concerning  this  show ;  and  more  com- 
ing and  sitting  down  with  us,  the  seats  at  ihe  door  were 
mostly  filled ;  and  I  had  conversation  with  them  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  labored  to  convince  them  that  thus 
assembling  to  see  those  tricks,  or  sleights  of  hand,  and  be- 
stowing their  money  to  support  men  who  in  that  capacity 
were  of  no  use  in  the  world,  was  contrary  to  the  nature  of 
the  Christian  religion.  There  was  one  of  the  company, 
who,  for  a  time,  endeavored  by  arguments  to  show  the 
reasonableness  of  their  proceedings ;  but  after  considering 


1772.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


369 


some  texts  of  Scripture,  and  calmly  debating  the  matter, 
he  gave  up  the  point.  Having  spent  about  an  hour  amongst 
them,  and  feeling  my  mind  easy,  I  departed." 

In  the  year  1770,  John  Woolman  was  brought  very  low 
by  a  severe  attack  of  pleurisy ;  during  which  dispensation 
his  mind  was-  kept  calm,  and  favored  with  some  openings 
into  the  excellency  of  heavenly  wisdom.  One  day  he  dic- 
tated the  following  instructive  remarks  on  prayer : 

"  The  place  of  prayer  is  a  precious  habitation  ;  for  I  now 
saw  that  the  prayers  of  the  saints  were  precious  incense : 
and  a  trumpet  was  given  me,  that  I  might  sound  forth  this 
language,  that  the  children  might  hear  it,  and  be  invited 
to  gather  to  this  precious  habitation,  where  the  prayers  of 
the  saints,  as  precious  incense,  arise  up  before  the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb.  I  saw  this  habitation  to  be  safe  ; 
to  be  inwardly  quiet,  when  there  were  great  stirrings  and 
commotions  in  the  world.  Prayer  at  this  day,  in  pure 
resignation,  is  a  precious  place  :  the  trumpet  is  sounded  — 
the  call  goes  forth  to  the  church  —  that  she  gather  to  the 
place  of  pure  inward  prayer ;  and  her  habitation  is  safe." 

He  had  for  some  time  had  an  impression  on  his  mind 
that  he  should  be  called  to  labor  in  the  gospel  beyond  the 
sea ;  and  this  concern  ripening,  he  sailed  with  the  unity  of 
his  friends  for  England  in  1772,  in  company  with  Samuel 
Emlen.  In  travelling  up  and  down  in  England,  he  was 
greatly  affected  in  observing  the  splendor  and  delicacy  in 
which  many  indulged  themselves,  while  multitudes  of  their 
fellow-creatures  were  not  able  to  obtain  the  necessary  com- 
forts of  life ;  and  he  labored  faithfully  to  encourage  those 
of  his  own  Society  to  simplicity  and  purity  of  life,  in 
accordance  with  their  self-denying  profession.  The  last 
sentence  in  his  journal  on  this  journey  is  worthy  of  preser- 
vation. 

"  In  this  journey  a  labor  hath  attended  my  mind,  that 
the  ministers  amongst  us  may  be  preserved  in  the  meek, 


370 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1772. 


feeling  life  of  Truth,  where  we  may  have  no  desire,  but  to 
follow  Christ  and  be  with  him  ;  —  that  when  He  is  under 
suffering,  we  may  suffer  with  Him  —  and  never  desire  to 
rise  up  in  dominion,  but  as  He  by  the  virtue  of  his  own 
Spirit  may  raise  us." 

A  few  days  after  writing  this,  he  came  to  the  city  of 
York,  w^here  he  was  soon  taken  ill  of  the  small-pox.  Dur- 
ing his  illness,  he  uttered  many  heavenly  expressions; 
ejaculating  on  one  occasion  in  the  following  manner :  "  In 
the  depths  of  misery,  O  Lord !  I  remembered  that  thou 
art  omnipotent, — that  I  had  called  thee  Father  —  and  I 
felt  that  I  loved  thee  —  and  I  w^as  made  quiet  in  thy  will 
—  and  I  waited  for  deliverance  from  thee.  Thou  hadst 
pity  upon  me  when  no  man  could  help  me.  I  saw^  that 
meekness  under  suffering  w^as  showed  to  us  in  the  most 
affecting  example  of  thy  Son,  and  thou  taughtest  me  to 
follow  Him  —  and  I  said,  thy  will,  O  Father,  be  done ! " 
On  another  occasion,  he  said,  "  I  feel  the  disorder  making 
its  progress,  but  my  mind  is  mercifully  preserved  in  still- 
ness and  peace."  Again,  "My  mind  enjoys  a  perfect 
calm."  In  the  night  he  exclaimed  with  great  earnestness, 
"  O  my  Father !  my  Father  !  how  comfortable  art  thou  to 
my  soul  in  this  trying  season ! "  And  being  invited  to 
take  a  little  nourishment,  he  remarked,  "  I  seem  nearly 
arrived  where  my  soul  shall  have  rest  from  all  its  troubles." 

A  day  or  two  afterwards,  he  broke  forth  in  supplication 
in  this  manner :  "  O  Lord,  it  was  thy  power  that  enabled 
me  to  forsake  sin  in  my  youth  ;  and  I  have  felt  thy  bruises 
for  disobedience ;  but  as  I  bov/ed  under  them  thou  healedst 
me,  continuing  a  father  and  a  friend.  I  feel  thy  power  now ; 
and  I  beg  that  in  the  approaching  trying  moment,  thou 
wilt  keep  my  heart  steadfast  unto  thee."  Perceiving  a 
Friend  to  w^eep,  he  said,  "  I  would  rather  thou  wouldst 
guard  against  weeping  for  me,  my  sister.  I  sorrow  not, 
though  I  have  had  some  painful  conflicts ;  but  now  they 


1775] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


871 


seem  over,  and  matters  well  settled,  and  I  look  at  the  face 
of  my  dear  Redeemer,  for  sweet  is  his  voice  and  his  counte- 
nance is  comely."  Some  time  after,  he  said  to  his  medical 
attendant,  "  My  dependence  is  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  I 
trust  will  forgive  my  sins,  which  is  all  I  hope  for."  Thus 
humbly,  yet  confidently,  did  this  devoted  servant  of  Christ 
look  to  the  mercy  of  his  Lord :  who  took  him  to  Himself 
in  sweet  peace,  without  sigh,  groan,  or  struggle,  in  the  fifty- 
second  year  of  his  age. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

ACCOUNT  OF  JOHN  CHURCHMAN. 

IN  the  year  1775,  died  John  Churchman,  one  of  John 
Woolman's  fellow-laborers  in  the  gospel  of  peace,  and 
in  the  cause  of  his  afflicted  brethren  of  the  African  race. 

He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  in 
the  year  1705,  and  was  tenderly  educated  by  his  parents  in 
the  profession  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  early  habit- 
uated to  a  diligent  attendance  of  religious  meetings.  He 
felt  the  reproofs  of  the  Lord's  Holy  Spirit  for  evil  words 
and  actions  at  a  very  early  period  of  his  life ;  but  knew 
not  whence  they  came,  until  he  was  about  eight  years 
of  age ;  when  sitting  one  day  in  a  small  meeting,  the  Lord 
by  his  heavenly  love  and  goodness  overcame  and  tendered 
his  heart,  and  by  his  glorious  Light,  discovered  to  him  a 
knowledge  of  Himself.  He  was  enabled  to  see  where  he 
was  in  the  Divine  sight,  even  in  a  state  of  vanity  and 
estrangement  from  his  Heavenly  Father ;  and  was  merci- 
fully made  to  feel  also,  that  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins 


372 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1775. 


would  follow  his  obedience  to  the  discoveries  of  this  Divine 
Light  of  Christ  in  his  soul,  reproving  for  sin  and  restrain- 
ing from  it ;  so  that  he  might  witness  a  dying  indeed  to 
sin,  and  a  being  raised  by  the  power  of  God,  into  newness 
of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  no  longer  to  live  to  himself,  to  fulfil 
the  inclinations  of  the  flesh,  but  to  live  unto  Him  who  died 
to  take  away  sin. 

It  was  his  practice,  when  a  child,  on  going  to  rest  for  the 
night,  to  examine  how  he  had  spent  the  past  day,  and  en- 
deavor to  feel  the  presence  of  the  Lord  near.  This  practice 
he  found  greatly  helpful  in  enabling  him  to  sleep  with  a 
sweet  and  easy  mind.  But  notwithstanding  he  had  been 
thus  favored,  when  quite  young,  and  enlightened  to  behold 
the  beauty  of  true  religion,  yet  as  he  advanced  in  years, 
through  un watchfulness  he  lost  in  degree  this  tender  state 
of  mind,  and  began  to  take  pleasure  in  many  things  which 
he  had  formerly  been  convinced  were  wrong.  He  indulged 
a  fondness  for  small  musical  instruments,  and  an  aptness 
for  jesting  and  witty  turns  in  conversation,  and  neglected 
the  right  improvement  of  his  mind.  The  condemnation 
which  afterwards  was  his  portion  on  account  of  his  light- 
ness and  forgetful n ess  of  God,  was  not  to  be  expressed. 
He  was  followed  by  that  merciful  Hand  which  waited  to 
pluck  his  feet  out  of  the  mire  and  clay  into  which  he  had 
fallen ;  and  was  visited  by  deep  convictions  of  the  sinful- 
ness of  his  course.  He  became  afraid  even  to  be  looked  at 
in  the  face  by  virtuous  persons,  lest  they  should  discern  the 
wickedness  of  his  heart.  In  this  miserable  condition  he 
arrived  at  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age ;  when  as  he  was 
one  day  walking  to  meeting,  thinking  on  his  forlorn  con- 
dition, and  remembering  the  heavenly  bread  of  which  he 
had  partaken  when  he  was  a  dutiful  child ;  but  of  which 
he  had  now,  by  straying  from  the  heavenly  Father's  house, 
been  eight  years  in  grievous  want ;  he  inwardly  cried  unto 
the  Most  High,  "  If  thou  art  pleased  again  to  visit  me,  I 


1775.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTE^'DS. 


373 


beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  visit  my  body  with  sickness,  or  pain, 
or  whatever  thou  mayst  please,  so  that  the  will  of  the  'old 
man'  may  be  slain,  and  everything  in  me  that  thy  contro- 
versy is  against ;  that  I  may  be  made  a  sanctified  Yessel  by 
thy  power.  Spare  only  my  life,  until  my  redemption  is 
wrought,  and  my  peace  made  with  thee ! "  After  this,  he 
remained  for  several  months  in  the  same  disconsolate  con- 
dition ;  but  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty  years, 
it  pleased  the  Lord  to  remember  him  in  judgments  mixed 
with  mercy,  and  make  way  for  his  deliverance.  He  was 
visited  with  a  severe  fit  of  sickness ;  which  in  a  few  days 
fully  awakened  him.  His  mis-spent  time  and  all  his  trans- 
gressions were  brought  to  his  remembrance  with  heavy  con- 
demnation. In  great  distress  he  cried  to  the  Lord  for  pity 
and  deliverance  from  sin ;  his  heart  was  made  exceedingly 
tender  under  an  awful  sense  of  his  condition ;  he  wept 
much ;  and  threw  himself  on  the  mercy  of  Him  whose 
compassions  fail  not ;  and  the  Lord  heard  his  cry,  looked 
down  from  His  holy  habitation,  and  gave  him  a  willing 
heart  to  bear  those  chastisements  which  were  needful  to 
cleanse  and  purify  him,  and  create  him  anew  in  Christ 
Jesus  unto  good  works.  It  pleased  the  Almighty  to  restore 
him  after  a  while  to  health ;  and  he  was  frequently  hum- 
bled under  a  sense  of  the  tender  dealings  of  Him  whose 
goodness  and  owning  love  he  felt  to  be  very  near.  From 
this  time  he  loved  retirement,  wherein  he  could  feel  after 
the  incomes  of  this  love  and  goodness,  which  he  felt  to  be 
his  life;  and  was  often  fearful  lest  he  should  again  fall 
away.  It  was  soon  manifested  to  him,  that  if  he  continued 
faithful,  he  would  be  called  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
He  loved  to  attend  religious  meetings,  both  for  divine  wor- 
ship and  for  the  discipline  of  the  church  ;  and  it  was  shown 
to  him,  that  all  those  who  attend  these  meetings  for  disci- 
pline should  wait  in  great  awfulness,  to  know  the  immediate 
presence  of  Christ,  the  Head  of  the  church,  to  give  them 
32 


374  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1775 


an  imderstanding  what  their  several  services  are,  and  for 
ability  to  answer  his  requirings ;  for  none  should  presume 
to  speak  or  act  without  the  motion  and  direction  of  His 
light  and  Spirit.  It  was  accordingly  in  great  fear,  that  he 
attempted  to  speak  in  these  meetings ;  but  as  he  kept  low, 
with  an  eye  single  to  the  honor  of  Truth,  his  peace  and 
inward  strength  were  increased  from  time  to  time. 

This  was  a  time  of  growing  in  the  root  of  life.  He 
rarely  passed  a  day  without  feeling  the  incomes  of  divine 
life  and  love ;  though  afterwards  he  was  left  for  many  days 
together  without  inward  refreshment,  and  was  taught  not 
only  how  to  abound,  but  also  to  suffer  need,  and  to  abide 
faithful  under  the  withdrawings  of  the  beloved  of  his  soul. 
About  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  he  was  appointed 
with  some  other  Friends  to  perform  a  religious  visit  to  the 
families  of  the  meeting  where  he  resided.  During  this  visit 
he  first  felt  the  motion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  prompting  to  the 
exercise  of  gospel  ministry ;  but  through  diffidence  he  put 
it  away,  and  did  not  yield  himself  up  to  the  requiring. 
The  consequence  of  this  unfaithfulness  was  a  sense  of  de- 
sertion. After  the  visits  were  over,  he  kept  much  at  home, 
and  had  work  enough  to  watch  against  a  lukewarm,  indo- 
lent spirit,  which  would  come  over  him  when  endeavoring 
to  wait  upon  God.  For  though  he  came  to  meeting  in  a 
lively  engagement  of  mind,  he  found  the  warfare  against 
lukewarmness,  sleepiness,  and  a  roving  imagination,  must 
be  steadily  maintained ;  and  that  if  none  of  these  hin- 
drances were  given  way  to,  the  Lord,  when  he  had  proved 
his  children,  would  arise  for  their  help,  scatter  their  ene- 
mies, and  enable  them  to  worship  Him. 

In  the  year  1731,  he  was  appointed  to  the  station  of  el- 
der, though  not  yet  twenty-seven  years  of  age;  and  two 
years  afterwards,  was  again  united  with  other  Friends  in  a 
family  visit.  He  now  began  to  think  he  had  been  under 
a  delusion,  in  entertaining  a  belief  that  he  should  be  called 


1775.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


375 


to  the  work  of  the  ministry ;  but  one  First-day  going  to 
Kennet  meeting,  toward  the  close,  something  was  impressed 
on  his  mind  to  offer  to  those  assembled.  Fearful  and 
diffident,  he  had  nearly  forborne ;  but  remembering  what 
he  had  before  suffered  for  disobedience,  he  stood  up,  and 
spoke  a  few  sentences  in  fear  and  brokenness  of  spirit ;  and 
had  satisfaction  and  peace  in  the  dedication.  On  finishing 
the  family  visit,  he  returned  home,  and  shortly  after  had 
again  to  open  his  mouth  in  the  awful  work  of  the  ministry. 
He  was  gradually  enabled  clearly  to  discern  between  the 
promptings  of  warmth  of  affection  for  the  people,  wMch 
would  lead  to  "offering  strange  fire"  that  would  have  no 
efficacy  in  it,  and  the  pure  motions  of  the  Lord's  Spirit, 
with  a  necessity  laid  upon  the  poor  servant,  and  a  "  woe,  if 
thou  preach  not  the  gospel."  From  this  time  he  grew 
steadily  in  the  gift,  and  was  often  engaged  in  travelling  in 
the  service  of  his  good  Master,  to  the  comfort  and  edifica- 
tion of  the  churches.  In  1750,  he  embarked  for  Europe, 
and  spent  four  years  in  visiting  Great  Britain,  Ireland, 
and  Holland ;  and  through  the  course  of  a  long  life  spent 
in  the  promotion  of  righteousness,  he  proved  himself  "a 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth." 

In  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  it  pleased  his  divine 
Master  to  say  of  all  his  labors  in  His  cause,  "it  is  enough," 
and  to  call  him  to  his  everlasting  reward.  During  his 
sickness,  he  frequently  expressed  his  resignation  to  the  will 
of  the  Almighty,  and  especially  toward  the  latter  part  of  it, 
he  frequently  broke  forth  in  heavenly  melody,  and  aspira- 
tion of  soul  in  praise  to  Him  who  had  been  pleased  to 
shine  forth  in  brightness,  after  many  days  of  poverty  and 
deep  baptism,  which  had  been  the  means  of  still  further 
purifying  from  the  dregs  of  nature.  Being  asked  by  a 
Friend,  how  he  was,  he  replied,  "I  am  yet  in  the  body ;  and 
when  I  go  out  of  it,  I  hope  there  is  nothing  but  peace ; " 


376 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1775. 


and  soon  after  added,  "I  have  seen  that  all  the  hustles  and 
noises  that  are  now  in  the  world,  will  end  in  confusion ; 
and  our  young  men  who  know  not  an  establishment  in  the 
Truth,  and  the  Lord's  fear  for  a  ballast,  will  be  caught  in 
a  trying  moment."  At  another  time  he  said,  "I  feel 
nothing  but  peace,  having  endeavored  honestly  to  discharge 
myself  in  public,  and  privately  to  individuals,  as  I  appre- 
hended was  required." 

With  reference  to  the  Society  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
he  thus  expressed  himself:  "  I  love  Friends  who  abide  in 
the  Truth,  as  much  as  ever  I  did ;  and  I  feel  earnest 
breathings  to  the  Lord,  that  there  may  be  those  raised  up 
in  the  church  who  may  go  forth  in  humility,  sweetness,  and 
life,  clear  of  all  superfluity  in  expressions  and  otherwise, 
standing  for  the  testimony,  that  they  may  be  useful  to  the 
church."  And  again,  about  three  days  before  his  death, 
several  Friends  being  in  his  room,  he  said :  "  Friends  in 
the  beginning,  if  they  had  health  and  liberty,  were  not 
easily  diverted  from  paying  their  tribute  of  worship  to  the 
Almighty  on  week-days  as  well  as  First-days.  But  after  a 
while,  when  outward  sufferings  ceased,  life  and  zeal  decay- 
ing, ease  and  the  spirit  of  the  world  took  place  with  many, 
and  thus  it  became  customary  for  one  or  two  out  of  a  fam- 
ily to  attend  meetings,  and  to  leave  their  children  much  at 
home.  Parents  also,  if  worldly  concerns  were  in  the  way, 
could  neglect  their  week-day  meetings  sometimes,  yet  be 
willing  to  hold  the  name,  and  plead  excuse  because  of  a 
busy  time,  or  the  like.  But  I  believe  that  such  a  depar- 
ture from  primitive  integrity  ever  did,  and  ever  will,  occa- 
sion a  withering  from  the  life  of  true  religion." 

On  the  24th  day  of  the  Seventh  month,  he  sat  up  for  a 
considerable  time,  and  appeared  lively  and  sensible,  though 
very  weak ;  and  thus  expressed  himself :  "  I  am  much  re- 
freshed with  my  Master's  sweet  air  —  I  feel  more  life,  more 
light,  more  love  and  sweetness  than  ever  before;" — and 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRTEXDS. 


often  mentioned  the  Divine  refreshment  and  comfort  he 
felt,  flowing  like  a  pure  stream  to  his  inward  man.  In  the 
evening  he  remarked  again,  "the  sweetness  that  I  feel." 
Soon  afterwards  the  difiiculty  of  breathing  increased,  and 
at  his  own  request  he  was  placed  in  a  chair ;  in  vrhich  he 
peacefully  expired,  leaving  the  savor  on  the  spirits  of  those 
who  knew  his  character,  of  "  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom 
is  no  guile." 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  FRIENDS  IN  IRELAND,  FOR  THEIR 
FAITHFUL  ADHERENCE  TO  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  PEACE, 
DURING  THE  REBELLION  OF  1798. 

IN  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  divers  pro- 
phetic warnings  had  shadowed  forth  the  coming  of  a 
storm  over  Ireland,  not  only  in  the  political  atmosphere, 
but  also  within  the  peaceful  precincts  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  John  Pemberton,  who  travelled  with  John 
Churchman  in  Ireland,  so  far  back  as  1752,  remarks,  on 
one  occasion,  that  "  Friends  were  exhorted  to  be  more  in- 
ward, and  to  seek  to  get  into  the  valley ;  for  the  faith  of 
some  would  be  tried,  and  the  church  also  would  suffer  a 
trial ;  and  it  seemed  as  though  the  Lord  would  dry  up  the 
torrents  on  the  mountains,  and  would  restrain  the  clouds, 
[spiritually,]  and  would  scorch  these  high  places,  and  they 
should  be  barren ;  therefore  there  was  need  for  all  to  sink 
low,  and  get  into  the  valley  of  true  humility,  that  they 
might  have  something  to  refresh  them,  when  the  Lord  is 
pleased  to  cause  a  famine  of  the  word  to  come.  It  was 
32  * 


378 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1798. 


also  testified,  that  He  would  likewise  prove  in  an  outward 
manner,  though  it  was  not  to  be  declared  in  the  will  of 
man,  nor  the  time  to  be  limited;  for  'a  thousand  years 
with  the  Lord  are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand 
years.'  Yet  if  it  did  not  happen  in  their  time,  it  might  in 
that  of  their  offspring,"  &c.  Whether  these  expressions 
were  uttered  by  himself,  or  by  John  Churchman,  does  not 
appear ;  though  most  probably  by  the  latter.  And  about 
thirty-two  years  afterwards,  William  Matthews,  travelling 
also  with  John  Pemberton  in  that  island,  is  mentioned  by 
the  latter,  as  having  spoken  in  a  meeting  for  worship  in 
the  province  of  Ulster,  "  of  a  day  of  trial,  that  in  some  way 
or  manner  would  overtake,  wherein  the  professors  of  the 
truth  would  be  deeply  proved ;  and  therefore  Friends  were 
exhorted  to  be  prepared  for  it."  John  Pemberton  was  also 
present  at  a  meeting  in  Dublin,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
National  Half-year's  Meeting,  in  1783,  wherein  Mary 
Ridgway  spoke  prophetically  "  of  a  day  approaching  that 
would  try  the  foundations  of  the  professors  of  Truth." 
And  a  few  days  afterwards,  "our  dear  friend  Samuel 
Neale  had  to  express,  in  a  lively,  feeling  manner,  his  sense 
of  a  day  approaching,  which  would  prove  the  faith  and  try 
the  foundations  of  the  professors  of  the  Truth.  He  had 
not  only  at  that  time,  but  at  divers  others,  been  made 
deeply  sensible  thereof — whether  by  pestilence,  or  other 
means,  he  could  not  tell — but  he  exhorted  Friends  to 
prepare  for  trials." 

The  deeds  to  be  narrated  in  the  few  succeeding  pages, 
developing  in  some  degree,  the  scenes  of  insurrectionary 
violence  and  rapine  which  brought  Ireland  into  anarchy 
and  distress  towards  the  close  of  that  century ;  and  the 
closely  following  deep  trials  which  had  well  nigh  over- 
whelmed the  Society  of  Friends  in  Ireland,  in  perils  from 
false  brethren,  will  naturally  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that 
the  Most  High  still  continues  to  favor  his  faithful  servants 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


379 


with  a  true  sense  of  the  state  and  dangers  of  the  church, 
and  even,  at  times,  with  a  prophetic  insight  into  the 
counsels  of  his  holy  will. 

About  the  year  1798,  this  beautiful  island  became  the 
scene  of  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  It  is  not  needful  here 
to  detail  the  causes  which  led  to  this  rebellion ;  which  was 
a  struggle  against  the  government,  by  a  party  incongru- 
ously composed  of  two  classes :  the  one  crying  out  for  civil 
license,  and  the  other  for  Popish  superstition ;  under  the 
respective  names  of  liberty,  and  of  religious  uniformity. 
In  their  attempts  to  accomplish  their  object,  the  insurgents 
defied  all  order  and  government,  and  committed  most 
dreadful  ravages  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  The 
Society  of  Friends  was  a  numerous  body,  particularly  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  island  ;  and  as  it  could  neither 
unite  on  the  one  hand  with  the  insurgents,  nor  concur  on 
the  other  with  the  warlike  measures  of  the  government  to 
suppress  them,  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  either  party 
would  feel  very  friendly  towards  its  members.  There  was 
therefore  a  gloomy  prospect  for  those  who  were  disposed  to 
look  forward  with  the  eye  of  human  reason,  rather  than 
with  that  of  faith  in  the  protecting  arm  of  Him  who  never 
forsakes  his  flock. 

Friends  saw  the  gathering  storm,  and  endeavored  to 
strengthen  each  other  for  the  trials  which  might  await 
them.  Before  the  rebellion  broke  out  into  actual  blood- 
shed, both  parties  in  the  struggle  successively  made  search 
in  private  houses  for  arms.  The  Quarterly  Meetings  had 
in  1795-6  recommended  to  all  their  members,  that  those 
wW)  had  guns  or  other  weapons  in  their  houses,  should  de- 
stroy them,  in  order  "  to  prevent  their  being  made  use  of  to 
the  destruction  of  any  of  our  fellow-creatures,  and  more 
fully  and  clearly  to  support  our  peaceable  and  Christian 
testimony  in  these  periious  times."    Committees  had  been 


380 


HTSTORTCAL   MEMOIRS  OF 


[1798. 


appointed  by  the  several  Monthly  Meetings,  to  go  round  to 
the  members,  and  see  that  this  recommendation  was  at- 
tended to ;  whose  labors  met  with  considerable  success ;  so 
that  when  the  government  ordered  all  arms  to  be  given  up 
to  the  magistrates,  it  was  a  source  of  satisfaction,  that  the 
members  generally  were  found  without  any  such  thing  in 
their  possession.  They  were  also  much  relieved  from  the 
midnight  depredations  of  the  insurgents,  to  which  most  of 
their  neighbors  were  exposed,  in  the  lawless  search  for 
weapons;  as  it  was  now  known  that  none  were  kept  in 
their  houses. 

A  Friend  residing  at  Ferns,  being  appointed  on  one 
of  these  committees,  and  feeling  the  necessity  of  first 
clearing  his  own  hands,  took  his  fowling-piece  and  broke 
it  in  pieces  in  the  street  before  his  door,  bearing  a  testi- 
mony to  his  neighbors,  of  his  resolution  that  nothing  of 
his  should  be  made  use  of  to  the  destruction  of  human 
life.  Some  of  the  magistrates,  with  the  priest  of  the 
parish,  came  to  his  house  to  expostulate  with  him  on 
having  destroyed  his  gun,  instead  of  delivering  it  up  to  the 
government,  to  assist  in  opposing  the  insurgents,  and  de- 
fending himself  and  his  family ;  though  the  priest,  as  it 
were  involuntarily,  acknowledged  that  he  believed  the 
Friend  put  his  confidence  in  a  higher  powder.  Shortly 
afterwards  the  town  of  Enniscorthy  was  burned,  this  priest 
was  murdered,  and  his  body,  with  many  others,  was  ex- 
posed several  days  in  the  streets,  until  a  few  Friends  ven- 
tured to  bury  what  the  swine  had  left  of  their  remains. 
One  of  the  magistrates  was  also  murdered,  and  his  house 
burned  over  his  body. 

This  Friend  had  afterwards  opportunities,  by  standyig 
firmly  to  his  principles,  of  alternately  saving  individuals 
of  both  parties  from  the  cruelties  of  war.  He  was  how- 
ever subjected  to  much  danger,  on  an  occasion  when  the 
military  were  preparing  to  hang  some  suspected  persons, 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


881 


and  fasten  pitch  caps  on  the  heads  of  others.  He  foresaw 
the  probability  of  his  being  applied  to  for  ropes,  which  he 
had  for  sale  in  his  way  of  business,  and  the  risk  which  he 
might  incur,  in  a  time  of  martial  law  prevailing,  if  he  re- 
fused to  sell  them.  But  he  could  not  be  easy  to  sell  his 
goods  for  a  purpose  so  repugnant  to  his  principles ;  and  when 
the  soldiers  came  to  purchase  ropes  for  halters,  and  linen  for 
the  pitched  caps,  he  nobly  refused  to  sell  them,  or,  when 
they  were  forcibly  taken  from  his  shop,  to  receive  any  pay 
for  them.  This  took  place  before  the  general  rising  in  that 
part,  and  becoming  known  to  his  neighbors,  he  had  reason 
to  believe  that,  under  the  direction  of  Divine  Providence, 
it  contributed  to  the  preservation  of  himself  and  his  family 
at  that  juncture.  For  very  soon  after  this  occurrence, 
when  the  whole  town  was  in  consternation  and  tumult,  and 
the  Protestant  inhabitants  in  continual  terror,  a  man  sup- 
posed to  be  of  the  party  called  "  United  Irishmen,"  entered 
his  house  early  in  the  morning,  declaring,  "  Let  who  may 
be  killed,  the  Quakers  will  be  spared."  That  morning, 
houses  and  grain-stacks  were  to  be  seen  in  flames  in  all 
directions ;  the  Protestants  were  fleeing  for  safety  into  the 
towns  and  villages,  some  wounded  and  bringing  dismal  news 
of  others  slain ;  and  every  one's  concern  seemed  to  be  to 
escape  with  his  life.  The  next  day  the  scene  was  changed. 
The  military  and  Protestant  inhabitants  had  left  the  town 
of  Ferns,  which  soon  became  filled  with  an  ungovernable 
mob  of  many  thousand  insurgents,  following  the  steps  of 
the  military,  and  occupied  in  demolishing  the  houses  and 
property  of  the  loyalists.  His  house  was  soon  filled  with 
them ;  when  to  his  astonishment  and  humbling  admiration, 
instead  of  the  massacre  which  he  and  his  family  had  ap- 
prehended, they  were  met  with  caresses  and  protestations 
of  friendship,  and  demands  of  nothing  but  something  to 
eat.  It  happened  that  the  day  before,  the  Friend  had  pre- 
pared large  quantities  of  food  for  the  distressed  people,  who 


382 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1798. 


had  then  fled  into  the  town  in  a  destitute  condition ;  but 
this  had  not  been  eaten,  and  now  furnished  a  supply  for 
the  hungry  multitude  of  insurgents  who  had  crowded  into 
his  house.  After  this,  they  departed,  and  in  a  short  time 
columns  of  smoke  ascending  into  the  air  from  a  distance  of 
six  miles,  gave  the  melancholy  tidings  that  the  whole  town 
of  Enniscorthy  was  in  possession  of  the  insurgents,  who 
fixed  their  camp  on  Vinegar  Hill. 

The  houses  of  Friends  now  became  asylums  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  suffering  and  the  destitute,  and  often  places  of 
hospitable  entertainment,  without  distinction  of  party ;  so 
that  it  was  wonderful  how  their  provisions  and  means  held 
out.  And  though  they  often  appeared  in  great  danger 
from  each  party,  on  account  of  their  houses  being  filled 
with  the  adherents  of  the  opposite  one,  yet  preservation 
was  experienced  in  a  marvellous  manner  throughout. 

The  above-mentioned  Friend  at  Ferns  was  threatened 
one  morning  that  his  house  would  be  burned  that  day,  for 
his  refusal  to  turn  out  some  Protestant  women  who  had 
sought  refuge  with  him.  He  meekly  replied,  that  he  could 
not  but  keep  his  house  open  to  succor  the  distressed ;  and 
if  they  burned  it,  he  must  turn  out  along  with  his  guests, 
and  share  in  their  affliction.  That  day  being  the  day  on 
which  the  Monthly  Meeting  was  to  be  held,  about  a  mile 
from  Ferns,  notwithstanding  this  alarming  denunciation, 
he  believed  it  his  duty  to  attend  the  meeting,  and  took  his 
family  with  him,  expecting  that  before  the  next  day  he 
should  be  without  a  habitation  or  the  means  of  present 
support.  But  his  faith  was  strong  in  the  preserving  power 
of  the  Lord ;  who  saw  the  sincerity  of  his  obedience,  and 
caused  even  the  hearts  of  his  enemies  to  change  towards 
him,  so  that  they  not  only  refrained  from  fulfilling  their 
threats,  but  never  afterwards  made  a  like  demand  from 
him.  • 

Soon  afterwards,  standing  at  the  door  of  his  house,  while  \ 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FR1EXD3. 


383 


the  army  was  entering  the  tov.n  in  pursuit  of  the  flying  in- 
surgents, a  soldier  stepping  up,  presented  his  gun  at  his 
breast,  and  was  on  the  point  of  drawing  the  trigger,  when 
the  Friend  desired  him  to  "  desist  from  murder."  The 
soklier  was  struck  with  amazement,  and  imm^ediately  let 
his  gun  fall  from  his  shoulder.  The  commanding  officer 
afterwards  desired,  in  relation  to  some  suspected  persons 
made  prisoners,  who  pleaded  their  innocence,  that  if  there 
were  any  Quakers  'in  the  tov>n,  these  persons  would  get 
certificates  of  good  behavior  from  them ;  and  this  same 
Friend  was  applied  to  by  several,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
procuring  their  liberation  from  prison,  and  perhaps  from 
death. 

Friends  were  now  subjected  to  great  danger  throughout 
the  country,  but  were  not  willing  to  relinquish  their  duty 
of  assembling  together  fdr  the  public  worship  of  the  Al- 
mighty ;  though  it  was  often  necessary  for  them  to  go  many 
miles  to  their  meetings,  through  parts  infested  with  armed 
and  violent  men,  and  to  leave  their  homes,  in  all  human 
probability,  a  prey  to  pillage  or  fire  during  their  absence. 
In  the  county  of  Wexford,  some  Friends  having  been  ob- 
served thus  to  persevere  in  attending  their  place  of  wor- 
ship, were  apprised  by  the  insurgents,  that  if  they  persisted 
in  it,  they  should  be  dragged  to  the  altar  of  a  Popish 
chapel  near  which  they  passed,  and  suffer  the  penalty  of 
their  obstinacy.  One  family,  in  particular,  received  notice, 
that  unless  they  gave  up  the  attendance  of  meetings,  and 
united  in  the  papal  forms  of  worship,  they  should  all  be 
put  to  death,  and  their  house  should  be  burned.  The  next 
day  was  meeting-day,  and  the  heads  of  the  family  feeling 
the  solemn  responsibility  of  their  situation,  were  brought 
under  deep  mental  exercise,  accompanied  with  fervent 
prayers  that  they  might  be  enabled  to  come  to  a  right  de- 
termination in  this  awful  crisis.  Collecting  their  family 
together  into  solemn  retirement,  they  laid  the  matter  before 


884 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1798. 


their  children.  The  noble  and  Christian  language  of  the 
eldest  son,  then  a  very  young  man,  was,  "Father,  rejoice 
that  we  are  found  worthy  to  suffer ! "  His  parents  were 
much  affected,  and  their  minds  strengthened  to  conclude 
to  attend  their  meeting  as  usual.  In  the  morning,  accord- 
ingly, they  proceeded  to  their  place  of  worship  along  the 
public  road,  not  being  easy  to  go  privately  through  the 
fields ;  and  their  enemies  were  prevented  from  carrying 
their  threats  into  execution,  by  the  sudden  arrival,  un- 
known to  these  Friends,  of  the  royal  army  in  that  part  of 
the  country.  Thus  they  were  preserved  from  harm,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  not  having  flinched  from  their  duty, 
under  so  great  a  trial  of  faith. 

A  neighboring  family  of  Friends,  containing  several 
daughters,  was  similarly  threatened ;  but  the  young  women 
faithfully  maintained  their  testimony  to  the  duty  of  assem- 
bling to  worship  the  Almighty  in  that  way  which  He  had 
pointed  out ;  and  as  their  parents,  being  advanced  in  years, 
and  having  had  their  horses  taken  away,  were  unable  to 
go  so  far  as  the  meeting-house,  which  was  about  four  miles 
distant,  they  sometimes  had  to  walk  the  whole  distance 
without  any  male  attendant,  in  the  very  height  of  the  com- 
motions. And  though  they  went  by  the  usual  public  road, 
not  being  easy  to  seek  a  more  private  way,  and  thus  had 
to  pass  through  the  midst  of  the  very  people  who  had 
threatened  them,  yet  they  were  preserved  from  injury.  On 
one  occasion,  after  being  more  than  usually  threatened,  the 
protection  afforded  them  seemed  very  remarkable ;  for  they 
were  escorted,  voluntarily,  for  several  miles,  by  a  dog  with 
which  they  were  entirely  unacquainted,  and  which  left 
them  on  seeing  them  safe  at  their  own  home. 

Friends  generally  of  this  meeting  were  threatened  with 
the  flames ;  their  meeting-house  was  to  be  converted  into  a 
Popish  chapel ;  and  a  blunderbuss  was  presented  at  one 
Friend,  in  order  to  deter  him  from  attending  the  meeting ; 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


885 


but  Friends  remained  firm ;  very  few  were  deterred  from 
the  fulfilment  of  this  duty  ;  and  on  the  very  evening  before 
the  meeting-day  when  so  many  were  to  be  devoted  to  destruc- 
tion, and  their  houses  to  the  flames,  the  power  of  the  in- 
surgents was  broken  by  a  decisive  battle  on  Vinegar  Hill ; 
and  during  the  meeting  the  next  morning,  many  of  these  mis- 
guided people,  instead  of  coming  to  destroy,  actually  sought 
the  meeting-house  as  an  asylum  of  safety  to  themselves. 

The  Friends  of  Cooladine  and  Enniscorthy  were  menaced 
in  like  manner  with  those  of  Forrest ;  bat  though  some  of 
them  had  to  lament  the  loss  of  their  property,  and  even 
the  destruction  of  their  houses,  yet  the  threats  of  personal 
violence  to  them  were  found  to  be  impotent,  and  their  lives 
were  providentially  preserved. 

At  the  time  of  the  Monthly  Meeting  at  Enniscorthy,  the 
house  was  put  in  preparation  to  be  fired,  and  some  of  these 
malicious  persons  were  actually  in  the  galleries  at  the  time 
when  Friends  assembled  ;  but  after  a  while  they  went  away 
without  doing  injury.  At  the  Leinster  Quarterly  Meeting 
also,  held  at  the  same  place,  many  Friends  assembled  from 
distant  parts ;  though  at  the  time  it  seemed  almost  impos- 
sible to  accomplish  it,  and  several  of  them  had  to  pass 
through  heaps  of  slain  on  the  road,  and  were  obliged  to 
remove  the  dead  bodies  out  of  the  way,  that  they  might 
not  trample  upon  them  ;  a  great  slaughter  having  occurred 
at  the  battle  of  Vinegar  Hill,  a  day  or  two  before. 

An  aged  Friend  had  his  house  entered  by  the  insurgents, 
who  required  him  to  undergo  the  Popish  ceremony  of  water 
baptism ;  and  on  his  refusal,  threatened  him  with  certain 
death.  On  their  afterwards  returning  and  repeating  the 
demand,  he  still  firmly  refused.  A  third  time,  they  de- 
manded his  compliance,  and  he  still  refusing  to  sacrifice  his 
peace  by  complying  with  their  desires,  they  told  him  that 
they  were  now  resolved  to  hang  him  before  they  left  the 
house,  if  he  did  not  comply.  They  accordingly  fastened  a 
83 


886 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1798. 


rope  around  his  neck,  took  him  to  an  out-house  on  his 
premises,  and  were  in  the  act  of  fastening  the  rope  to  a 
joist  for  the  completion  of  their  wicked  design,  when  a 
sudden  alarm  of  the  approach  of  soldiery  scattered  them, 
and  his  life  was  preserved. 

Friends  in  the  county  of  Westmeath  witnessed  many 
heart-rending  scenes,  some  of  them  living  in  solitary  places, 
surrounded  by  the  insurgents,  and  not  feeling  themselves  at 
liberty  to  follow  the  example  and  persuasions  of  their  Prot- 
estant neighbors,  in  fleeing  from  their  habitations  to  the 
garrison-towns.  But  being  favored  with  faith  and  patience 
to  abide  in  their  lots,  and  conscientiously  adhering  to  their 
principles,  they  experienced  the  name  of  the  Lord  to  be 
a  strong  tower,  in  which  they  found  safety. 

Friends  residing  in  the  county  of  Kildare,  though  they 
were  often  in  danger,  escaped  personal  injury  from  either 
party.  The  country  people  generally  spoke  well  of  them, 
appearing  to  be  sensible  that  though  they  would  not  join 
them,  neither  would  they  on  the  other  hand  take  part 
against  them.  When  the  military  came  to  quell  the  insur- 
rection, the  Popish  priest  ran  to  borroAV  a  Friend's  coat,  to 
disguise  himself,  and  thus  save  his  life.  Many  respectable 
persons  of  the  county  of  Wexford,  on  the  evening  of  the 
battle  of  Ross,  apprehending  themselves  not  secure  in  their 
own  houses,  flocked  with  their  families  into  those  of  Friends  ; 
and  some  of  these  belonging  to  an  armed  association,  and 
clad  in  military  garb,  readily  acquiesced  in  the  remon- 
strances of  the  peaceful  proprietors,  and  assumed  a  dress  in 
this  time  of  fear,  of  a  more  peaceable  appearance.  Thus 
was  protection  often  witnessed  in  a  wonderful  manner  to 
the  Society  of  Friends,  as  had  been  foretold  by  several 
of  their  ministers  some  years  before,  and  the  prediction  of 
one  in  particular  was  literally  fulfilled,  who  was  heard  to 
declare  in  gospel  authority,  that  "in  a  time  of  trial 
which  was  approaching,  if  Friends  kept  their  places,  many 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


387 


would  be  glad  to  take  shelter  uuder  the  skirts  of  their  gar- 
ments." 

A  Protestant  minister  near  Enniscorthy,  seeing  the  dan- 
ger approaching,  requested  that  the  clothes  of  a  Friend 
might  be  given  to  him,  hoping  that  in  such  a  dress  he 
might  be  preserved,  or  might  effect  his  escape.  But  it  was 
remarked,  that  such  a  disguise  could  be  of  no  advantage  ; 
and  he  hid  himself  by  the  river-side,  ^vhere  he  was  soon 
afterwards  found  and  murdered. 

Some  circumstances  connected  with  the  battle  of  Antrim 
are  worthy  of  record.  The  regular  army  was  not  able  to 
make  a  stand  against  their  opponents ;  and  when  it  was 
found  that  the  latter  were  likely  to  enter  the  town,  the  in- 
habitants were  directed  to  close  their  doors  and  windows, 
and  a  general  dismay  spread  itself  among  them.  There 
was  a  family  of  Friends  residing  in  the  town,  consisting  of 
a  very  young  man  and  his  sisters,  whose  father  was  then 
travelling  in  America  in  the  service  of  the  gospel.  At  the 
time  of  his  preparing  to  leave  Ireland  for  that  purpose,  a 
fellow-minister  was  led  into  public  supplication,  in  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  for  his  preservation  and  safe  return, 
and  expressed  a  belief  that  during  his  absence  the  sword 
would  be  near  his  house,  and  the  dead  bodies  lying  in  the 
streets,  but  no  harm  should  befall  his  family,  for  the  Lord 
would  encamp  about  them,  and  preserve  them  as  in  the 
hollow  of  His  hand.  This  was  now  literally  accomplished. 
At  the  time  of  the  battle,  the  family  designed  staying  in 
their  house ;  but  when  they  found  that  the  action  had  com- 
menced, and  that  the  cannon  was  placed  directly  opposite 
their  door,  thus  exposing  the  house  to  imminent  danger, 
they  thought  of  taking  refuge  in  the  fields.  This  however 
they  found  was  impracticable,  from  the  dense  crowd  of 
people  around  their  house,  as  the  heat  of  the  action  was  in 
that  spot.  In  a  very  short  time,  the  insurgents  became 
uiasters  of  the  town,  cutting  oflT  about  one-third  of  the  sol- 


888 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1798. 


diery  opposed  to  them ;  but  their  victory  was  of  short 
duration  ;  for  a  reinforcement  arriving,  they  were  dispersed, 
and  the  town  retaken.  This  family  during  the  battle  had 
taken  in  a  poor  wounded  man  of  the  insurrectionary  party, 
and  afforded  him  what  assistance  was  in  their  power ;  but 
v.'hen  the  firing  had  almost  ceased,  they  urged  the  propriety 
of  his  endeavoring  to  escape,  both  for  his  own  safety  and 
theirs.  He  had  scarcely  quitted  the  premises,  when  a  body 
of  soldiers  knocked  furiously  at  the  door,  demanded  imme- 
diate entrance,  and  insisted  on  knowing  whether  any  stran- 
gers were  in  the  house.  Some  were  for  going  up-stairs  to 
search  ;  but  one  of  the  officers  observed,  that  "the  Quakers 
were  people  that  would  not  tell  a  lie — that  their  word 
might  be  taken — and  if  any  strangers  were  there,  it  would 
not  be  denied."  The  behavior  of  the  soldiers  now  became 
civil,  and  they  brought  in  a  fatally  wounded  man  of  their 
own  party,  to  receive  their  kind  attentions,  and  promised 
them  protection.  After  the  battle,  the  town  presented  an 
awful  spectacle — dead  bodies  of  men  and  horses  lying  in 
the  blood-stained  streets — and  the  people  here  and  there 
saluting  their  neighbors,  as  those  who  had  survived  a  pes- 
tilence or  an  earthquake.  For  several  days  the  inhabitants 
were  kept  in  constant  alarm,  and  the  part  of  the  town 
where  this  family  resided,  being  a  suspected  district,  was 
ordered  by  the  soldiery  to  be  burned.  But  while  the  com- 
manding officer  was  riding  up  the  street  to  give  the  orders, 
one  of  the  sisters  ventured  through  the  crowd  towards  him, 
and  simply  asked  him  if  their  house  was  to  share  the  same 
dismal  fate.  He  gave  her  an  assurance  of  protection  to 
them,  and  without  thdr  knowledge,  a  yeoman  was  placed 
as  a  guard  at  their  door,  while  the  work  of  destruction  was 
going  on.  They  were  afterwards  also  remarkably  saved 
from  the  common  fate  of  the  inhabitants,  of  being  plun- 
dered by  the  soldiery. 

It  was  not  known  that  during  the  whole  of  this  gloomy 


1798.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


889 


season  of  anarchy  and  destruction,  the  Society  of  Friends 
lost  more  than  one  of  its  members  by  the  violence  of  war. 
And  this  was  a  young  man  who  had  deviated  from  their 
principles,  in  a  faithful  adherence  to  which,  his  brethren  in 
profession  were  so  wonderfully  preserved.  This  youth,  ap- 
prehending that  he  could  find  no  safety  for  his  life  but  by 
outward  means  of  defence,  resolved  to  put  on  a  military 
uniform,  and  to  associate  with  armed  men.  Telling  his 
connections  that  they  would  all  be  murdered,  if  they  re- 
mained in  the  country  in  so  defenceless  a  state,  he  fled  to  a 
neighboring  garrison-town.  But  this  very  place  was  at- 
tacked and  taken ;  the  door  of  the  house  where  he  had  been 
firing  from  a  window,  was  forced  open  by  the  enraged  en- 
emy ;  and  though,  in  terror  for  his  life,  he  sought  conceal- 
ment in  the  chimney  of  an  upper  chamber,  he  was  discov- 
ered and  put  to  death ;  furnishing  an  awful  example  of  the 
sad  result  of  casting  away  confidence  in  the  protecting  arm 
of  the  Almighty,  and  bartering  the  pure  principles  of 
Christianity  for  a  reliance  on  the  arm  of  flesh. 

But  the  follower  of  a  crucified  Lord  must  not  expect 
always  to  escape  from  suffering,  nor  make  his  allegiance 
depend  on  a  hope  of  security  in  this  life.  He  may  be  re- 
quired at  times  even  to  offer  up  his  natural  life,  as  a  seal 
to  his  testimony  for  a  good  conscience.  At  Kilbroney,  in 
the  county  of  Wexford,  were  two  brothers,  named  John  and 
Samuel  Jones :  neither  of  whom  was  ever  in  membership 
with  Friends,  but  the  latter  had  attended  their  meetings,  and 
was  attached  to  their  principles.  The  following  affecting 
circumstances  will  scarcely  be  denied  to  entitle  them  (par- 
ticularly the  younger)  to  the  name  of  Christian  martyrs. 

Samuel  was  of  a  meek  and  gentle  spirit,  and  remarked 
for  the  benevolence  of  his  disposition.  He  had  of  late  be- 
come increasingly  serious,  and  expressed  on  different  occa- 
sions an  apprehension  of  being  shortly  taken  away.  The 
two  brothers  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  insurgents,  cou- 
88  * 


890 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1798. 


veyed  to  Scullabogue,  and  confined  in  a  house  close  to  a 
barn,  in  which  a  few  days  afterwards,  a  large  number  of 
their  fellow-creatures,  men,  women,  and  children,  were  hor- 
ribly burnt  to  death.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  were  mas- 
sacred in  this  way,  and  by  shooting  them  in  the  adjacent 
lawn.  John  Jones,  the  elder  brother,  was  now  brought 
into  a  close  searching  of  heart,  and  found  cause  to  lament 
that  in  time  past  he  had  not  sought  after  a  preparation  for 
death ;  but  was  encouraged  by  his  brother  to  faithfulness. 
Samuel's  wife  was  permitted  to  accompany  them  to  their 
prison ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  barn  was 
burnt,  as  they  were  reading  the  New  Testament,  she  in- 
quired of  one  of  the  guards,  the  cause  of  the  peculiar  smell, 
which  she  perceived,  like  burning  animal  matter.  He 
coolly  told  her,  it  was  some  beefsteaks  preparing  for  break- 
fast !  To  a  further  inquiry,  "  What  was  meant  by  the 
firing  of  guns?"  he  replied,  "that  it  was  some  criminals 
they  were  shooting."  About  five  minutes  after  this,  the 
three  were  taken  from  the  prison  into  the  lawn,  and  Sam- 
uel was  required  to  turn  to  the  Romish  religion.  He 
replied,  "Where  shall  I  turn,  but  where  my  God  is?" 
And  being  urged  to  have  his  children  undergo  the  cere- 
mony of  water-baptism,  he  said,  "My  children  are  innocent ; 
and  I  will  leave  them  so."  Some  person  now  saying  that 
these  prisoners  "  were  Quakers,"  it  was  replied  that  if  they 
could  make  it  appear  that  they  were  so,  they  should  not  be 
put  to  death.  But  as  they  were  neither  of  them  really  mem- 
bers, this  could  not  be  done.  Some  of  them  now  took  Sam- 
uel aside,  and  offered  him  liis  life  on  certain  conditions ;  but 
finding  these  to  conflict  with  his  sense  of  religious  duty,  he 
firmly  rejected  them  ;  and  when  the  "  holy  water,"  as  they 
termed  it,  was  brought  to  them,  he  turned  his  back  upon 
it,  in  testimony  "kgainst  their  bigotry. 

He  encouraged  his  brother  John  to  faithfulness  to  the 
last,  fearing  lest  his  steadfastness  might  give  way  ;  and  re- 


1799.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


391 


minded  him  of  the  words  of  our  blessed  Saviour ;  "  Whoso- 
ever shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven  ; "  and  "  he  that  findeth  his 
life  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake, 
shall  find  it."  John  was  then  shot  by  the  insurgents. 
Samuel  desired  his  love  to  be  given  to  certain  Friends, 
whom  he  named ;  but  the  party  endeavored  to  work  upon 
his  feelings,  by  falsely  asserting  that  they  had  already  for- 
feited their  lives  at  the  camp.  To  this  however  he  meekly 
replied,  "  then  they  died  innocent."  He  now  took  an  af- 
fectionate leave  of  his  wife,  who  with  admirable  fortitude 
stood  by  him  and  held  his  hand,  until  he  was  shot  by  the 
side  of  his  brother.  His  last  words  were  those  with  which 
he  had  endeavored  to  encourage  his  brother,  and  which 
now  afforded  inexpressible  support  to  himself ;  "  He  that 
loseth  his  life  for  My  sake,  shall  find  it." 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

THE  SEPARATION  IN  IRELAND,  IN  1799,  ETC. 

ALTHOUGH  many  were  thus  faithful  in  maintaining 
their  testimony  to  the  peaceable  nature  of  the  Gos- 
pel, during  a  season  of  sore  trial,  yet  there  were  at  this 
time  in  various  parts  of  the  nation,  those  under  our  name 
who  had  imbibed  more  or  less  of  a  sceptical  and  self-right- 
eous spirit.  These  deluding  themselves  and  others  by  false 
pretensions  to  spirituality,  and  greater  light  on  religious 
subjects  than  their  brethren  in  that  or  former  ages,  began 
to  promulgate  many  wild  and  unsound  notions  relative  to 
certain  important  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion.  In- 


392 


HTSTORTCAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1799. 


flated  by  a  fond  conceit  of  their  own  attainments,  and  by 
the  presumptuous  idea  that  they  possessed  the  plenary  in- 
spiration of  the  Spirit,  and  therefore  needed  not  the  fainter 
light  of  external  evidence,  they  boldly  rejected  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  sacred  volume,  renounced  the  epithet  "  Holy," 
as  applied  to  the  Scriptures,  and  set  up  in  their  stead  the 
wild  vagaries  of  their  own  feverish  imaginations.  They 
strenuously  advocated  the  propriety  of  bringing  every  sub- 
ject to  the  test  of  reason ;  and  deciding  on  its  credibility, 
by  its  accordance  with  their  ideas  of  what  such  a  Being  as 
they  chose  to  consider  the  Creator,  ought  to  require  of  his 
rational  creatures.  But  while  they  were  high  in  profession 
of  "  rational  belief,"  they  adopted  and  openly  professed 
many  absurd  and  extravagant  notions. 

Discontented  and  restless  in  themselves,  and  conscious 
that  they  were  professing  to  be  what  the  Searcher  of  hearts 
knew  they  were  not,  they  seemed  ready  to  catch  at  any 
novelty,  either  in  faith  or  practice,  which  promised  to 
make  them  conspicuous  as  reformers  of  the  Society,  or,  by 
occupying  their  attention,  to  divert  them  from  a  sense  of 
their  own  corruptions,  and  their  great  need  of  a  change 
of  heart.  Renouncing  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  and  dis- 
daining the  pure  and  simple  doctrines  of  Christianity,  they 
struck  out  for  themselves  a  new  system ;  a  primary  feature 
of  which  was,  a  denial  of  the  truths  recorded  in  the  Bible, 
under  the  specious  pretence,  that  the  "  light  within,"  as 
they  irreverently  termed  what  was  nothing  more  than  their 
own  fallen  reason,  or  the  workings  of  a  morbid  imagina- 
tion, had  enabled  them  to  see  beyond  all  outward  evidence. 
Hence  they  rejected  as  untrue,  the  doctrine  of  the  "  eternal 
power  and  godhead "  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  pro- 
pitiatory sacrifice  on  the  cross  for  the  sins  of  mankind,  his_ 
mediation,  and  his  intercession  ;  regarding  him  in  no 
higher  point  of  view,  than  as  a  blessed  example  and  holy 
pattern.     Indeed,  with  the  confidence  which  they  had 


1799.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


393 


in  their  own  righteousness,  it  was  impossible  that  they 
should  believe  in  a  necessity  of  His  atonement  for  their 
sins.  Not  satisfied  with  the  clear  and  sublime  account 
written  by  Moses,  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  they  de- 
clared it  an  allegory :  they  mysticized  the  description  of 
the  garden  of  Eden  into  a  mere  metaphorical  account  of 
the  human  heart  and  its  propensities,  asserting  that  it  was 
never  intended  to  be  construed  literally :  and  by  the  same 
method  they  evaded  the  force  of  other  parts  of  the  Bible, 
which  did  not  comport  with  their  own  notions. 

Conceiving  that  no  act  connected  with  religion  was  ob- 
ligatory upon  them  without  a  special  and  immediate  im- 
pulse of  duty,  they  declined  the  salutary  practice  of  ob- 
serving the  First-day  of  the  week  as  a  day  of  rest  and 
religious  exercises,  pursued  their  usual  avocations,  and 
refused  to  assemble  at  stated  times  for  the  purpose  of 
Divine  worship ;  only  attending  when  they  considered 
themselves  particularly  moved  thereto,  which  would  some- 
times happen  to  be  at  the  time  the  assembly  were  about 
to  separate. 

Against  the  consistent  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
they  inveighed  with  much  acrimony  and  zeal,  as  formal, 
traditional,  and  lapsed  professors,  resting  in  the  command- 
ments of  their  fathers,  and  adding  thereto  the  superstitions 
and  corruptions  of  other  religious  societies.  The  excellent 
code  of  discipline  which  for  many  years  had  proved  a 
means  of  preservation  and  strength  to  the  church,  they 
became  dissatisfied  with,  wishing  to  remove  all  restraints, 
and  leave  every  man  at  liberty  to  "do  that  which  Avas 
right  in  his  own  eyes." 

About  this  time,  Hannah  Barnard,  of  Hudson  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  who  occupied  the  station  of  a  minister, 
opened  to  her  Monthly  Meeting  a  desire  to  visit  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  Friends  of  that  place,  though  prob- 
ably in  some  degree  influenced  by  affectionate  feelings  in 


394 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1799. 


her  behalf,  yet  appear  to  have  felt  unusual  hesitation  on 
the  subject ;  the  matter  being  referred  to  a  committee,  in 
whose  hands  it  remained  about  nine  months,  before  they 
could  report  in  favor  of  granting  the  usual  credentials. 
They  were  however  at  length,  partly  by  earnest  appeals  to 
the  affections  of  the  young  and  inexperienced  members,  in- 
duced to  set  her  at  liberty,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Eighth 
month,  1797,  and  she  sailed  for  Europe. 

Travelling  in  Ireland,  her  discourses  public  and  private, 
though  artfully  disguised  for  a  time,  were  calculated  to 
foster  this  spirit  of  insubordination,  and  even  eventually 
of  unbelief ;  and  she  was  eagerly  followed  by  those  who 
were  already  more  or  less  under  its  influence. 

At  the  next  Yearly  Meeting  in  Dublin,  this  sorrowful 
subject  claimed  the  serious  attention  of  the  body ;  which 
directed  the  Monthly  Meetings  timely  to  labor  in  Christian 
love  and  tenderness,  for  the  restoration  of  these  deluded 
persons ;  and  where  they  could  not  be  reclaimed,  they  were, 
with  the  advice  of  the  Quarterly  Meetings,  to  be  testified 
against,  as  out  of  the  unity  of  Friends.  The  Yearly  Meet- 
ing also  appointed  a  committee  to  visit  the  Quarterly, 
Monthly,  and  other  Meetings,  to  assist  them  with  advice 
and  counsel  in  the  trying  circumstances  under  which  many 
of  them  were  placed.  The  appointment  of  this  committee 
struck  dismay  into  the  ranks  of  the  dissentients,  as  they  saw 
that  it  rendered  their  prospect  of  carrying  their  own  meas- 
ures entirely  hopeless. 

David  Sands,  a  valuable  minister  from  the  state  of  New 
York,  before  mentioned,  who  had  arrived  in  Great  Britain 
in  1795,  had  been  drawn  in  the  love  of  Christ  to  visit  Ire- 
land ;  and  being  led  into  very  plain  dealing  among  them, 
in  imparting  the  whole  counsel  of  his  Divine  Master,  he 
became  a  principal  mark  for  their  enmity.  Many  of  them 
refused  to  acknowledge  his  ministry  by  uniting  in  the  usual 
orderly  practice  of  standing  up  and  taking  off  the  hat, 


1799.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


395 


while  he  was  engaged  in  meetings  for  worship  in  the  solemn 
act  of  addressing  the  Most  High. 

Richard  Jordan  also,  of  North  Carolina,  a  fellow-laborer 
in  the  same  glorious  gospel,  was  moved  at  that  juncture  to 
visit  the  afflicted  Society  in  Ireland ;  and  is  believed  to 
have  been  eminently  useful  in  strengthening  the  weak 
hands  of  those  who  were  faithfully  opposing  this  spirit  of 
unbelief  and  disorder,  and  in  confirming  the  feeble  faith 
of  some,  who  were  ready  to  falter  under  the  plausible  ap- 
pearances which  were  presented.  He  bore  a  solemn  and 
powerful  testimony  against  the  dangerous  tendency  of  this 
delusion  ;  he  labored  with  undaunted  zeal  to  expose  its 
fallacies ;  he  warned  both  young  and  old  against  suffering 
themselves  to  be  entangled  therein ;  and  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  prophetic  spirit,  he  foretold  the  sorrowful  conse- 
quences which  these  errors,  if  persisted  in,  would  inevitably 
produce. 

But  notwithstanding  the  earnest  labors  of  many  deeplv 
concerned  Friends,  the  leaders  of  this  secession  continued 
their  cour.se,  until  many  lost  their  membership  in  the  So- 
ciety. In  the  province  of  Ulster,  all  the  elders  were  dis- 
placed from  their-  station ;  and  a  considerable  number  of 
ministers  and  elders  in  various  parts  were  disowned  from 
membership.  Hannah  Barnard,  notwithstanding  the  pri- 
vate labor  which  had  been  abundantly  bestowed  upon  her, 
at  length  so  openly  avowed  her  unbelief  in  the  divinity 
and  atonement  of  the  blessed  Saviour,  and  the  authenticity 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  on  her  leaving  Ireland,  in 
the  spring  of  1800,  she  was  called  to  account  before  the 
Yearly  Meeting  of  Ministers  and  Elders  in  London,  for  her 
unsound  doctrines,  discouraged  from  continuing  to  travel 
as  a  minister,  and  advised  to  return  home. 

The  committee  of  the  Yearly  meeting  of  Dublin  to  visit 
and  aid  the  subordinate  meetings,  was  reappointed  each 
year  until  1802,  when  the  painful  duty  of  separating  from 


896 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1801. 


the  body  those  who  persisted  in  adhesion  to  this  heresy, 
appeared  to  be  nearly  completed,  and  the  Society  clear 
from  responsibility  for  their  errors.  The  hand  of  Divine 
Providence  seemed  to  be  turned  in  an  awful  manner  against 
these  deniers  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  so  that 
the  predictions  of  Richard  Jordan  and  others  were  re- 
markably verified.  Some  of  them  who  had  lived  in  afflu- 
ence, experienced  a  sad  reverse  in  their  condition ;  many 
not  only  lost  their  religious  reputation,  but  even  suffered 
in  their  moral  character,  and  became  an  astonishment 
to  their  former  acquaintances.  Others,  however,  awak- 
ened by  timely  warning,  abandoned  their  errors,  and 
through  the  mercy  of  a  gracious  Redeemer,  came  to  ex- 
perience repentance  and  forgiveness;  these  embraced  the 
Christian  religion  in  renewed  faith  and  sincerity,  and  w^ere 
restored  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church. 

Hannah  Barnard,  not  complying  with  the  admonitions 
of  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Ministers  and  Elders  in  Lon- 
don, her  case  was  brought  into  the  Monthly  Meeting  of 
Devonshire  House  in  that  city,  which  also,  after  exami- 
nation, advised  her  to  return  home.  She  was  not  willing 
to  take  this  advice,  and  finally  appealed  to  the  Yearly 
Meeting  in  1801 ;  which,  after  a  patient  investigation  of 
the  case,  confirmed  the  advice  of  the  Monthly  Meeting. 
On  her  return,  her  own  Monthly  Meeting  being  apprised 
of  her  unsoundness,  she  was,  after  ineffectual  attempts  to 
reclaim  her,  at  length  disowned  by  Friends,  and  sunk  into 
obscurity. 


1802.]  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


397 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

THOMAS  SHILLITOE's  EARLY  LIFE  AND  COXTIXCEMENT  — 
HIS  REMARKABLE  GOSPEL  LABORS  IN  IRELAND,  ETC. 

OxsE  of  the  most  remarkable  men  who  joined  the  Society 
in  modern  days,  was  Thomas  Shillitoe.  He  was  born 
in  London,  in  the  year  1754,  and  educated  according  to  the 
views  of  the  Episcopal  society,  of  which  his  parents  were 
zealous  members.  From  about  the  twelfth  year  of  his  age, 
he  was  exposed  to  many  temptations.  His  father  taking 
charge  of  a  large  tavern  at  Islington,  in  the  suburbs  of 
that  great  city,  Thomas,  whose  disposition  was  naturally 
volatile,  was  exposed  to  the  contamination  of  evil  exam- 
ples in  almost  every  kind  of  vice.  He  Avas  afterwards 
placed  as  apprentice  with  a  person  much  given  to  liquor 
and  unprofitable  company ;  so  that  his  situation  continued 
to  be  one  of  great  danger.  But,  though  thus  exposed, 
adorable  mercy  awakened  in  his  mind  a  degree  of  serious 
thoughtfulness,  which  no  doubt  preserved  him  from  many 
gross  evils.  Growing  up  towards  manhood,  he  occasion- 
ally attended  the  meetings  of  Friendij  with  a  young  rela- 
tive ;  but  this  was  not  from  a  pure  motive,  and  did  not  ap- 
pear to  be  productive  at  that  time  of  much  effect  on  his 
mind.  He  generally  spent  the  afternoon  of  the  First-day 
of  the  week  in  idleness  and  rambling  about  for  pleasure, 
giving  greater  latitude  than  ever  to  his  natural  inclina- 
tions. But  the  retrospect  of  this,  in  times  of  serious  reflec- 
tion, was  not  productive  of  that  comfort  Avhich  he  had  once 
known,  when  this  day  of  the  week  had  been  differently 
occupied.  He  was,  however,  mercifully  again  visited  by 
the  reproofs  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  his  attention  arrested, 
34 


898 


HISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1772. 


to  consider  the  misery  into  which  the  road  he  was  now 
travelling  must  eventually  lead  him,  if  he  continued  to 
pursue  it.  He  found  he  must  now  attend  meetings  for 
worship  from  a  sense  of  religious  obligation,  and  that  too 
both  morning  and  afternoon ;  and  as  he  faithfully  gave  up 
to  this  duty,  his  desires  increased  after  an  acquaintance 
with  the  Almighty,  and  a  knowledge  of  His  law.  Earnest 
were  his  prayers,  that  in  this  day  of  the  Lord's  powerful 
visitation,  in  mercy  renewed  to  his  soul,  the  Father  of  all 
grace  would  not  leave  him  to  become  a  prey  to  his  soul's 
enemy  —  that  His  hand  would  not  spare,  nor  his  eye  pity, 
until  an  entire  willingness  was  brought  about  in  him,  to 
cast  himself  doAvn  at  the  Lord's  holy  footstool.  As  resig- 
nation was  thus  produced  in  him,  to  yield  to  the  purifying 
operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire,  that  the  fan  of  God's 
AVord  and  power  should  separate  between  the  precious  and 
the  vile,  corresponding  fruits  were  brought  forth,  and  mani- 
fested in  his  outward  conduct. 

His  father  showed  great  displeasure  at  his  attending  the 
meetings  of  Friends,  and  endeavored  to  dissuade  him 
therefrom,  representing  the  Society  in  as  unfavorable  and 
ridiculous  a  point  of  view  as  he  could ;  but  without  effect. 
Thomas  soon  felt  that  it  would  be  right  for  him  to  use  the 
pure  language  of  thou  and  thee,  instead  of  you,  to  a  single 
person,  and  to  refuse  to  conform  to  the  vain  compliments 
of  the  world.  During  the  mental  exercises  which  he  passed 
through  on  this  account,  he  fell  under  much  discourage- 
ment ;  especially  when  his  father  told  him  that  he  must 
quit  his  paternal  abode,  and  go  among  those  v.'ith  whom  he 
had  associated  in  religious  profession.  But  in  this  season 
of  close  trial,  he  was  not  deserted  by  Him  who  cares  even 
for  the  sparrows.  A  situation  was  procured  for  him  as 
clerk  in  a  banking-house.  Here  he  entertained  a  hope  of 
being  out  of  the  way  of  much  temptation  ;  but  alas !  he 
soon  found  his  mistake;  and  that  no  situation  was  safe, 


1775.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FKIENDS. 


399 


without  maintaining  tlie  daily,  unremitted  watch.  Very- 
few  of  his  new  companions  were  acquainted  with  that  in- 
ward ^york  of  religion  which  he  so  greatly  desired,  many 
of  them  being  much  given  up  to  the  world  and  its  delusive 
pleasures.  For  want  of  keeping  steadily  on  the  watch,  he 
had  nearly  made  shipwreck  of  faith.  But  the  mercy  of 
God  snatched  him  again  as  a  brand  out  of  the  burning, 
and  pointed  out  to  him  the  need  of  increasing  circum- 
spection. 

The  business  of  his  employers  required  him  at  times  to 
purchase  lottery  tickets  for  country  correspondents,  and  to 
attend  to  some  other  matters  which  he  felt  a  scruple 
against ;  and  this  brought  him  under  fresh  trial,  desiring 
to  retain  a  situation  in  which  he  was  making  a  res2:)ectable 
livelihood,  and  yet  not  feeling  easy  to  continue  in  the  prac- 
tice of  that  which  was  manifested  to  him  to  be  wrong. 
But  submissively  seeking  divine  direction,  he  was  enabled 
clearly  to  see  that  he  must  settle  down  to  that  manner  of 
obtaining  his  livelihood,  which  Truth  would  point  out  to 
him.  And  crying  unto  the  Lord,  in  earnest  prayer,  that 
He  would  be  pleased  to  direct  him,  the  Most  High  in 
mercy  heard  his  cries,  and  answered  his  supplications, 
pointing  out  to  him  the  humble  business  of  a  shoemaker, 
as  the  means  by  which  he  should  hereafter  gain  a  living 
more  consistently  with  his  religious  scruples.  This  intima- 
tion at  first  involved  him  in  great  distress  of  mind ;  partly 
from  the  fear  lest  he  should  not  soon  be  able  to  earn 
enough  to  supply  himself  with  what  was  necessary  for  his 
sustenance,  as  he  had  saved  but  little  from  his  present 
salary.  But  leaving  his  employers,  he  engaged  with  a 
person  to  teach  him  the  business,  and  trusted  to  the  Lord 
for  preservation.  Great  were  the  trials  to  which  for  a 
time  he  was  subjected ;  his  little  stock  of  money  wasted 
fast ;  and  his  earnings  over  what  he  had  to  pay  his  in- 
structor, were  so  very  small  as  not  to  allow  him  for  the 


400 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1778. 


first  twelve  months,  more  than  bread,  cheese,  and  water, 
and  sometimes  bread  only,  to  keep  clear  of  debt ;  and  this 
he  carefully  avoided. 

After  he  had  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness, he  commenced  on  his  own  account,  with  a  capital  of 
a  few  shillings.  His  prospects  brightened  j  his  business 
prospered ;  and  in  1778  he  entered  into  the  married  state, 
under  the  sanction  and  guidance,  as  he  believed,  of  Him 
who  had  thus  far  mercifully  cared  for  him. 

For  some  time  his  mind  had  been  exercised  with  a  be- 
lief, that  if  he  continued  faithful  to  divine  requirings,  a 
gift  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  would  be  committed  to 
his  charge.  Earnest  were  his  secret  cries  for  the  Lord's 
preservation,  under  the  prospect  of  this  awful  work — to 
be  kept,  on  the  one  hand,  from  running  before  he  was  sent, 
and  on  the  other,  from  overstaying  the  right  time,  when  the 
command  should  be  distinctly  heard,  "Go  forth." 

About  the  24th  year  of  his  age,  he  first  opened  his  mouth 
as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  was  favored  with  great 
peace  for  this  act  of  dedication.  But  he  soon  found,  to 
his  sorrow,  that  Satan  can  transform  himself  into  an  angel 
of  light ;  and  when  he  cannot  effect  his  evil  purpose,  by 
causing  us  to  lag  behind,  he  will  then  strive  to  hurry  us  on 
before  our  good  Guide,  and  thus  in  one  way  or  the  other 
endeavor  to  mar  the  Lord's  w^ork.  From  this  snare,  how- 
ever, he  was  favored  to  recover  himself;  and  as  he  humbly 
followed  the  puttings  forth  of  the  heavenly  finger,  looking 
neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left,  he  grew  in  his 
gift,  and  increased  in  understanding  of  the  things  of  God ; 
and  for  many  years  was  employed  by  his  divine  Master,  in 
strengthening  and  confirming  the  churches,  in  various 
places,  at  a  distance  from  his  own  abode. 

Before  undertaking  some  of  these  religious  engagements, 
he  was  at  times  much  discouraged,  from  fears  lest  his  out- 
ward concerns  should  suffer  during  his  absence ;  as  he  had 


1793.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


401 


no  experienced  person  under  whose  superintendence  to 
leave  them.  On  one  occasion  these  discouragements  were 
presented,  if  possible,  with  double  force ;  but  as  he  yielded 
to  the  influence  of  divine  help,  the  powder  of  the  Almighty 
was  mercifully  manifested,  his  mind  was  tendered  under 
its  influence,  and  he  heard  in  the  secret  of  his  soul,  intelli- 
gibly addressed  to  his  mental  ear,  the  following  language : 
"  I  will  be  more  than  bolts  and  bars  to  thy  outward  habi- 
tation— more  than  a  master  to  thy  servants — more  than  a 
husband  to  thy  wife,  and  a  parent  to  thy  infant  children." 
Thus  was  his  faith  confirmed ;  he  no  longer  dared  to  hesi- 
tate, but  proceeded  on  his  Master's  mission ;  and  on  return- 
ing home,  he  found  his  outward  concerns  in  as  good  order 
as  if  he  had  himself  had  the  management  of  them  during 
the  interim. 

In  the  year  1793,  he  apprehended  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
pay  a  religious  visit  to  King  George  the  Third.  The  inter- 
view proved  satisfactory,  and  that  which  he  communicated, 
appeared  to  be  well  received.  The  king  stood  in  a  solid 
manner  during  its  delivery,  and  was  so  much  aflfected  that 
the  tears  trickled  down  his  cheeks. 

About  the  year  1805,  having  been  so  far  favored  with 
success  in  trade,  as  to  have  saved  an  income  of  about  one 
hundred  pounds  a  year,  he  was  not  easy  to  go  on  accumu- 
lating ;  but  under  a  sense  of  duty,  relinquished  his  busi- 
ness, and  devoted  himself  more  fully  to  the  work  to  which 
he  had  been  called  of  God,  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow- 
men.  He  often  felt  himself  constrained  to  address  those 
in  power,  on  the  great  prevalence  of  vice  and  irreligion 
among  the  people ;  and  some  of  these  addresses  were  very 
close  and  striking.  It  also  pleased  his  Divine  Master  to  lay 
upon  him  the  duty  of  visiting  the  most  depraved  and  aban- 
doned of  the  human  family,  and  of  warning  and  pleading 
with  those  who  were  either  encouraging  or  conniving  at 
their  evil  practices. 
34* 


402 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1808. 


In  his  travels,  especially  in  Ireland,  he  beheld  with  sorrow 
the  great  number  of  places  where  ardent  spirits  were  sold,  the 
crowds  of  persons  who  frequented  them,  and  the  degrading 
and  brutalizing  effects  produced  by  this  pernicious  article, 
particularly  on  the  lower  classes ;  subverting  every  thing 
like  a  sense  of  religion,  destroying  the  physical  and  mental 
powers,  and  involving  its  victims  in  squalid  wretchedness 
and  poverty.  He  had  not  long  witnessed  the  misery  pro- 
duced by  these  drinking-houses,  before  he  felt  constrained 
to  visit  the  keepers  of  them  in  certain  parts,  and  to  plead 
personally  with  them  and  their  visitors  against  their  evil 
practices ;  notwithstanding  the  prospect,  at  times  realized, 
of  meeting  with  insult  and  abuse. 

The  first  visit  of  this  kind  was  in  the  town  of  Waterford, 
in  company  with  Elizabeth  Ridgway,  a  Friend  who  had  a 
similar  religious  concern.  Their  service  was  not  confined 
to  the  keepers  of  the  houses,  but  frequently  extended  to 
the  company  sitting  in  them  to  drink;  who  mostly  behaved 
respectfully,  and  heard  quietly  what  they  had  to  offer. 
Yet  they  met  with  a  few  instances  of  the  contrary,  and 
some  of  the  remarks  made,  as  well  as  the  crowd  that  fol- 
lowed them  from  house  to  house,  were  very  humiliating. 
But  as  they  endeavored  to  keep  near  in  spirit  to  their 
Holy  Helper,  theiy  were  strengthened  in  an  admirable  man- 
ner, to  go  through  the  service,  and  to  deliver  "all  the 
counsel  of  God"  among  those  dark  spirits,  settled  down  ap- 
parently in  gross  superstition  and  ignorance.  Even  among 
these,  they  often  found  a  door  of  entrance  for  the  gospel 
message,  and  returned  home  at  length,  with  hearts  truly 
contrited,  under  a  fresh  sense  that  all  things  are  possible 
with  the  Most  High. 

Soon  afterwards  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  visit  the  drinking- 
houses  at  Carrick-on-Suir,  and  Ross,  in  company  with  the 
same  female  friend.  On  entering  Carrick,  they  became 
the  subjects  of  much  remark.    They  generally  found  both 


1810.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


403 


houses  and  hearts  open  to  receive  them  and  what  they  had 
to  communicate.  They  were  followed  from  house  to  house 
by  crowds  of  people.  Thomas's  account  states,  that  "  al- 
though the  houses  would  be  so  filled,  that  there  did  not  ap- 
pear to  be  room  for  another  to  squeeze  in,  yet  quietness 
soon  prevailed,  and  was  in  a  remarkable  manner  preserved, 
especially  whilst  we  were  engaged  in  delivering  our  mes- 
sage. Truly  we  may  say  this  was  the  Lord's  doing ;  and 
that  we  were  able  to  attain  to  any  quiet  in  ourselves  is 
marvellous  in  our  eyes.  By  endeavoring  to  keep  in  the  pa- 
tience, and  to  have  our  minds  clothed  with  that  love  which 
would  have  all  gathered,  taking  quietly  such  insults  as 
were  ofiered,  and  any  opposition  to  what  we  had  to  com- 
municate, the  veil  of  prejudice  would  generally  give  way : 
love  would  beget  love,  and  make  way  for  free  and  open 
communication."  "Sometimes,  on  entering  a  house,  we 
found  persons  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  Their  compan- 
ions, aware  of  our  errand,  boasted  they  would  have  liquor, 
calling  out  for  large  quantities.  But  on  our  appearing  not 
to  notice  them,  but  to  take  our  seats  quietly  amongst  them, 
others  would  take  pains  to  keep  them  still,  and  in  time,  all 
has  been  hushed  into  silence,  as  much  so  as  I  have  known 
in  our  own  meetings." 

In  1810,  he  again  felt  it  his  duty  to  visit  Ireland.  Soon 
after  arriving  there,  he  engaged  in  visiting  the  drinking- 
houses  at  Clonmel  and  several  other  towns.  A  few  ex- 
tracts from  his  own  account  of  these  visits,  will  furnish 
some  idea  of  their  trying  character,  as  well  as  of  the  mar- 
vellous manner  in  which  he  was  helped  to  perform  them. 
In  speaking  of  the  visit  at  Clonmel,  he  says :  "  My  com- 
panion used  often  to  say,  it  seemed  as  if  the  Good  Master 
went  into  the  houses  before  us  to  prepare  the  way.  Such 
were  the  feelings  of  solemnity  we  met  with  on  entering  the 
houses,  and  when  sitting  with  the  keepers  of  them,  and 
their  customers,  that  at  times  it  seemed  much  like  paying 
a  family  visit  among  Friends. 


404 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1810. 


"  At  Callen,  the  crowd  that  gathered  around  us  was  very 
interrupting,  and  they  behaved  in  an  uncivilized  manner ; 
yet  my  mind  was  preserved  quiet,  feeling  the  necessity  of 
letting  them  see  that  my  dependence  was  placed  on  the 
Supreme  All-powerful  Preserver  of  the  universe."  In 
some  of  the  towns,  whose  inhabitants  were  principally 
Papists,  bigotry  and  superstition  prevailed  to  a  very  great 
extent;  and  the  priests  had  endeavored  to  prejudice  the 
people  against  them.  After  concluding  the  visits  to  the 
drinking-houses,  it  was  his  practice  to  visit  either  the  mag- 
istrates, or  the  bishops  and  priests ;  and  sometimes  he  did 
not  feel  clear  until  he  had  faithfully  spoken  to  all. 

The  following  account  of  one  of  these  interviews,  will 
furnish  an  example  of  the  uncompromising  manner  in 
which  he  spoke  what  he  believed  was  required  of  him. 
"  On  our  arrival  at  the  house,  we  were  ordered  up  stairs, 
where  the  bishop  received  us  with  great  civility,  ushered 
us  into  a  room,  brought  me  a  chair,  placing  it  opposite  to 
a  sofa,  on  which  he  took  his  seat.  My  companions  taking 
seats  also,  we  dropped  into  silence ;  which  I  broke  by  say- 
ing, a  visit  had  been  paid  to  the  drinking-houses  in  Kil- 
kenny, which  I  supposed  he  had  been  acquainted  with  :  to 
which  he  replied,  *  Well.'  I  observed,  that  in  performing 
this  visit,  my  fears,  and  the  various  reports  I  had  heard, 
were  fully  confirmed ;  that  the  '  laity '  profess  to  believe  the 
'clergy'  have  full  power  to  forgive  their  sins;  adding,  the 
people  may  be  so  deceived  as  to  believe  the  priest  has  this 
power,  but  I  did  not  believe  it  possible  the  '  clergy '  could 
believe  it  themselves.  And  therefore,  as  their  superior,  to 
whom  the  people  were  taught  to  look  up  for  counsel,  I  de- 
sired he  would  look  to  the  Almighty  for  help,  and,  as  he 
valued  his  own  precious  soul,  as  ability  was  afforded  him, 
endeavor  to  turn  the  minds  of  the  people  from  man  unto 
God  and  Christ  Jesus,  who  only  can  forgive  sins:  otherwise 
he  would  incur  a  load  of  condemnation  too  heavy  for  him 


1810.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


405 


to  bear  in  the  great  day  of  account,  when  the  deceiver  and 
the  deceived  would  be  all  one  in  the  sight  of  God,  v/hether 
actively  or  passively  deceiving  the  people.  That  at  times, 
when  considering  the  subject,  it  was  my  belief  that  if  the 
Almighty  had  one  vial  of  wrath  more  powerful  than  an- 
other, it  would  be  poured  out  upon  those  who  thus  deceived 
the  people.  Here  I  closed  for  the  present.  He  manifested 
great  confusion,  shutting  his  eyes,  as  not  being  able  to  look 
me  in  the  face.  A  pause  ensued.  After  a  while,  he  began 
by  saying,  it  was  very  indecorous  and  unchristian  in  me  to 
come  to  his  house,  a  stranger  to  him,  and  from  another 
land,  and  address  him  in  such  a  manner ;  charging  him,  a 
man  of  so  much  experience  in  the  church  of  God,  with  be- 
ing a  deceiver ;  saying,  surely  I  must  be  mistaken.  I  told 
him,  it  was  in  love  to  his  soul,  and  under  an  apprehension 
of  religious  duty.  He  called  upon  me  to  produce  my  au- 
thority for  my  mission.  I  told  him,  my  authority  was  in 
my  own  breast.  I  queried  with  him  :  '  Are  not  the  people 
thus  deceived?  Do  they  not  believe  the  'clergy'  have 
power  to  forgive  their  sins  ?  Art  thou  endeavoring  to  un- 
deceive them  ?  For  the  '  clergy '  cannot  be  so  deceived  as 
to  believe  this  power  is  vested  in  them'  —  exhorting  him  to 
be  willing  to  co-operate  with  that  Divine  help,  which,  if 
rightly  sought  after  by  him,  would  be  extended ;  whereby 
ability  would  be  received  to  undeceive  the  peoj)le ;  again 
reminding  him,  that  the  deceiver  and  deceived  were  all  one 
in  the  sight  of  God ;  and  that  it  continued  my  firm  belief, 
if  the  Almighty  had  one  vial  of  His  wrath  more  powerful 
than  another,  it  would  be  poured  out  on  those  who  thus  de- 
ceived the  people,  whether  actively  or  passively  engaged 
therein.  He  said  he  believed  I  meant  well,  and  that  he 
commended  my  principles,  but  he  could  not  say  he  thanked 
me  for  my  visit.  I  expected  at  times  he  would  turn  me 
out  of  the  room.  We  rose  from  our  seats  to  take  our 
leave ;  when  the  bishop  clasped  my  hand,  and  holding  it, 


406 


HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


[1811. 


paused,  saying,  *I  believe  I  may  say,  I  feel  thankful  for  it' 
(the  visit).  Requesting  us  to  take  some  refreshments,  he 
kindly  conducted  us  to  the  stairs  again,  and  we  parted, 
never  more  to  meet  on  this  side  of  eternity." 

In  the  year  1811,  Thomas  Shillitoe  was  again  engaged, 
still  more  extensively,  in  visiting  the  drinking-houses  in 
some  of  those  cities  and  towns  in  Ireland,  which  had  before 
been  omitted.  In  these,  as  at  other  times,  he  was  con- 
cerned, not  only  to  set  before  them  the  evil  consequences 
of  taking  strong  drink,  but  also  to  point  out  to  them  the 
sure  way  of  life  and  salvation ;  with  the  absolute  need 
there  was  of  ceasing  from  all  dependence  on  man,  and  of 
depending  simply  on  the  Lord  alone  for  salvation.  Many 
insults  and  reproaches  were  offered  to  him  ;  but  having  an 
evidence  in  his  own  mind,  that  he  was  fulfilling  a  duty  laid 
upon  him  by  his  Divine  Master,  he  was  carried  through 
them  all.  He  had  indeed  frequently  the  satisfaction  of  be- 
lieving that  the  opportunities  were  signally  owned ;  great 
seriousness  and  solemnity  being  obviously  produced  in 
minds  often  of  the  most  abandoned  persons. 

A  description  of  one  of  the  six  hundred  visits  he  paid 
to  the  drinking-houses  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  will  show  the 
humiliating  nature  of  the  service,  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  was  enabled  to  warn  and  exhort  those  whom  he  met 
with  in  those  sinks  of  dissipation  and  vice.  He  says : 
"  We  proceeded  to  Barrack-street.  The  first  house  we  en- 
tered made  a  deplorable  appearance.  It  was  very  early  in 
the  morning ;  yet  we  found,  on  descending  the  steps  into 
the  drinking-room,  which  resembled  a  cellar,  the  window- 
frames  and  glass  broken,  and  several  young  women,  without 
shoes,  stockings,  or  caps,  dancing  to  the  fiddle.  We  made 
towards  the  room  set  apart  for  the  keepers  of  the  house ; 
where  we  met  with  the  mistress.  Requesting,  if  she  had  a 
husband,  to  have  his  company,  he  soon  made  his  appear- 
ance.  I  endeavored  to  lay  before  them  what  arose,  although 


1811.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


407 


I  found  it  difficult  to  get  fairly  relieved.  The  fiddle,  and 
at  times  the  screaming  of  the  dancers,  was  a  great  interrup- 
tion. The  man  remained  quiet  for  a  short  time,  and  then 
left  us,  the  woman  appearing  to  have  the  management  of 
the  house.  What  I  had  to  say  brought  her  to  tears.  On 
inquiry,  I  found  she  had  children;  I  therefore  requested 
her  seriously  to  consider  what  would  be  her  conclusion  re- 
specting the  conduct  of  any  person  who  should  harbor  her 
children,  and  suffer  them  to  go  on  in  such  wicked  practices 
as  she  was  now  encouraging  the  young  girls  in  under  her 
roof,  who  might  be  without  parents  or  friends  to  take 
charge  of  them ;  saying,  I  did  not  wish  for  a  hasty  reply. 
She  confessed  she  should  think  they  acted  a  cruel  part.  I 
therefore  entreated  her  to  attend  to  that  Divine  Monitor  in 
her  own  breast,  which  she  confessed  she  at  times  witnessed 
to  be  near  ;  which  would  clearly  make  known  to  her  the 
necessity  to  rid  her  house  of  such  company  as  she  now  har- 
bored ;  which  would  be  one  way  whereby  she  might  hope 
for  the  Divine  blessing  on  honest  endeavors  for  the  support 
of  herself  and  family  ;  otherwise  she  must  look  for  a  blast 
following  them  every  way.  She  continued  tender,  and  at 
our  parting,  in  a  feeling  manner  expressed  her  desire,  that 
what  had  been  communicated  might  be  profitably  remem- 
bered by  her.  After  receiving  her  warm  expressions  of 
gratitude,  we  proceeded  to  leave  the  house ;  but  on  reach- 
ing the  step  of  the  entrance,  my  attention  was  again  ar- 
rested, and  I  found  I  must  be  willing  to  return  into  the 
apartment  where  the  dancing  was  going  forward,  and  qui- 
etly submit  to  any  insults  that  might  be  the  result  of  my 
being  found  in  the  way  of  my  duty.  On  my  comj^anion 
being  informed  hereof,  he  appeared  tried  as  well  as  myself; 
but  I  found  it  would  not  bring  peace  to  our  minds  to  hesi- 
tate. We  therefore  turned  back ;  which  the  woman  of  the 
house  observing,  came  and  stood  by  us,  I  supposed  to  pre- 
vent any  rude  behavior  that  might  be  ofifered.    I  requested 


408 


HISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  [1811. 


the  man  who  had  the  fiddle  to  cease  playing  and  take  his 
seat ;  which  he  complied  with  ;  and  those  who  were  dancing 
to  do  the  like,  which  each  one  yielded  to.  The  scene  ex- 
hibited in  different  parts  of  this  large  room,  if  it  were  pos- 
sible fully  to  describe,  would  produce  a  picture  of  as  great 
human  depravity  and  misery,  as  well  can  be  conceived.  On 
a  bench  near  us  lay  young  girls,  overcome  with  their  night's 
revelling  and  drunkenness,  past  being  roused  by  anything 
that  occurred  around  them ;  others,  from  the  same  causes, 
reclining  on  the  tables,  barely  able  to  raise  their  heads  and 
open  their  eyes,  and  altogether  incapable  of  comprehending 
what  was  going  forward.  Companies  of  men  and  women,  in 
boxes,  were  in  other  parts  of  the  room  drinking.  Strength 
was  received  to  utter  what  was  given  me ;  and  after  I  had 
been  some  time  engaged  in  addressing  this  band  of  human 
misery,  I  think  I  shall  not,  wdiilst  favored  with  mental 
powers,  wholly  lose  sight  of  the  distress  and  horror  portrayed 
in  the  countenances  of  those  young  women  who  had  ceased 
their  dancing.  Feeling  my  mind  relieved,  and  being  about 
to  depart,  such  of  the  company  as  were  equal  to  it,  arose 
from  their  seats,  acknowledging  their  gratitude  for  the 
labor  that  had  been  extended,  and  their  desire  that  what 
had  been  said  might  not  be  lost  upon  them,  and  that  a 
blessing  might  attend  us.  My  back  was  towards  the  door, 
and  not  hearing  a  footstep  of  those  who  came  in  while  we 
were  engaged,  when  we  turned  to  go  out,  I  was  surprised 
at  the  addition  made  to  our  company.  My  companion  re- 
marked, that  it  appeared  as  if  something  brought  an  awe 
over  their  minds  on  entering,  and  they  quietly  took  their 
seats,  and  when  the  seats  were  full,  others  sat  on  the 
ground." 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  labors,  he  felt  it  required  of 
him  to  visit  the  mayor,  sheriff,  and  police  magistrates,  as 
well  as  the  Romish  and  Protestant  bishops,  endeavoring  to 
lay  before  the  Romish  bishop  in  particular,  the  great  re- 


1812.] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


409 


sponsibility  that  rested  on  him,  from  the  implicit  depend- 
ence which  the  people  placed  on  the  priesthood,  and  the 
sorrowful  account  those  will  have  to  give  in  a  future  day, 
who  are  encouraging  the  people  in  this  reliance  on  them- 
selves, instead  of  turning  their  attention  to  Christ  within, 
the  hope  of  glory. 

In  1812,  Thomas  believed  it  required  of  him  to  unite 
w^ith  a  female  minister,  in  paying  a  religious  visit  to  an 
organized  company  of  desperate  characters,  who  for  nearly 
fifty  years  had  infested  the  neighborhood  of  Kingswood,  in 
England ;  who  lived  by  plundering,  robbing,  horse-stealing, 
and  other  evil  practices ;  and  were  so  great  a  terror  to  the 
neighborhood,  that  it  was  considered  dangerous  to  travel 
on  the  roads  infested  by  them.  In  the  prosecution  of  this 
trying  service,  which  extended  not  only  to  "the  Gang,"  as 
these  robbers  were  called,  but  also  to  the  families  of  miners 
and  colliers  living  in  that  section  of  country,  Thomas 
and  his  companion  were  often  obliged  to  travel  by  night ; 
but  they  were  mercifully  raised  above  apprehensions  of 
danger,  through  faith  in  the  protecting  care  of  Him,  who, 
they  believed,  had  called  them  forth.  They  were  favored 
from  time  to  time,  with  memorable  evidences  of  the  suffi- 
ciency of  His  almighty  power  to  subdue  the  strong  wills, 
and  soften  the  hard  hearts  of  wicked  men.  While  plead- 
ing with  these  abandoned  characters  respecting  their  evil 
practices,  they  were  often  made  sensible  that  the  Divine 
Witness  in  their  hearts  was  reached ;  their  hearers  ac- 
knowledged the  truth  of  what  they  had  to  say,  and  ex- 
pressed their  obligations  for  the  counsel  given. 
35 


410 


HISTOKICAL  MEMOIRS  OF 


CONCLUSION. 

O  attempt  has  been  made  to  embody  the  whole  history 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  these  few  pages.  Many 
volumes  w^ould  be  requisite  to  describe  even  a.  small  por- 
tion of  the  gracious  dealings  of  the  Lord  with  his  depend- 
ent children,  and  the  wonderful  instances  of  divine  support 
vouchsafed  to  them  in  the  hour  of  need.  But  in  the  view 
which  we  have  briefly  taken  of  the  principal  events  char- 
acterizing the  rise  and  progress  of  this  people,  the  reader 
may  have  observed,  that  though  exceedingly  various  were 
the  natural  dispositions  and  conditions  of  the  individuals 
successively  brought  into  the  service  of  the  Truth,  yet  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  one  and  the  same.  In 
every  instance,  the  operation  of  divine  grace  has  been  ac- 
companied by  a  great  abasement  of  self,  a  deep  sense  of 
the  fallen  and  corrupt  state  of  man,  and  a  looking  to  the 
Lord  alone  for  help  and  strength  to  overcome  the  evil 
propensities  of  the  unregenerate  nature.  There  has  been 
a  conviction  that  no  half  work  would  be  accepted,  but  that 
the  whole  heart  was  to  be  cleansed  and  renewed,  and  the 
whole  mind  and  will  made  submissive  to  the  manifestations 
of  the  light  of  Christ  Jesus  in  the  soul. 

We  have  seen  the  faithfulness  of  many  of  these  servants 
of  the  Lord,  and  observed  that  their  devoted  lives  fur- 
nished conclusive  evidence  that  they  knew  and  felt  the 
force  of  the  apostolic  precept :  "  Ye  are  not  your  own,  for 
ye  are  bought  with  a  price ;  therefore  glorify  God  in  your 
bodies  and  in  your  spirits,  which  are  God's."  We  have 
also  remarked  the  marvellous  manner  in  which  they  were 
preserved  and  supported  in  the  hour  of  trial,  and  the  fu- 
tility of  all  attempts  to  suppress  the  growth  of  the  plant  of 
the  Lord's  planting,  by  the  most  severe  and  sanguinary 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


411 


persecution.  We  have  likewise,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
sorrowful  evidence  that  this  Society  has  not  been  without 
its  troubles  from  false  brethren,  by  whom,  under  various 
specious  disguises,  the  great  enemy  of  Truth  has  striven  to 
divide  and  scatter  the  flock. 

In  this  day  of  outward  ease,  that  cunning  adversary  has 
changed  his  mode  of  attack ;  the  spirit  of  the  world,  in  its 
various  transformations,  is  now  the  chief  snare  laid  for  the 
feet  of  the  unwary ;  and  many  have  fallen  a  prey  to  its 
entanglements.  But  it  is  surely  not  arrogating  too  much, 
to  encourage  the  belief  that  the  same  Hand  which  brought 
this  vine  out  of  Egypt  and  planted  it,  will  still  watch  over 
His  own  seed,  will  water  it  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and 
preserve  its  fruits  to  his  own  praise. 

It  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  enlightened  men 
and  women  who  were  employed  of  the  Lord  in  gathering 
our  religious  Society  in  the  beginning,  were  fully  persuaded 
that  they  Avere  not  collecting  together  a  mere  sect  or  divis- 
ion of  the  Christian  church ;  but  that  the  principles  which 
they  advocated,  being  no  other  than  those  of  ancient  pure 
Christianity,  were  designed  by  the  Almighty,  in  a  time  to 
come,  to  extend  over  the  whole  earth.  This  was  unques- 
tionably their  belief,  and  this  belief  animated  them 
through  all  discouragements,  to  press  forward  in  their 
endeavors  to  spread  the  glorious  gospel  in  its  own  sim- 
plicity and  purity.  Several  of  the  testimonies  held  forth 
by  ancient  Friends,  have  since  their  day  found  a  remark- 
able place  in  the  estimation  of  serious  individuals  of  vari- 
ous names  ;  and  it  remains  to  be  seen,  whether  the  faithful- 
ness of  a  future  generation  shall  not  be  made  use  of  in  the 
divine  Hand,  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  over  the 
lands  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

Should  this  be  happily  the  case  through  the  medium  of 
this  highly  favored  people,  it  is  scarcely  needful  to  say, 
that  it  must  be  by  an  uncompromising  adherence  to  the 


412  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  FRIENDS. 

ancient  principles  of  the  church,  and  a  practical  exemplifi- 
cation of  their  efficacy,  in  life  and  conduct.  Divine  truth 
is  the  same  in  the  present  day,  as  it  was  when  the  apostles 
went  forth  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  their  Divine  Mas- 
ter ;  and  as  it  was  when  George  Fox  and  his  fellow-labor- 
ers, in  a  measure  of  the  same  spirit,  boldly  testified  against- 
spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places.  And  the  same  neces- 
sity exists,  as  ever  did,  for  the  faithful  maintenance  of 
their  testimony  to  pure  and  spiritual  religion,  in  the  face 
of  a  world  lying  in  wickedness,  or  lulled  in  the  lap  of  error, 
disguised  under  the  plausible  appearance  of  truth. 

Let  then  the  inheritors  of  these  precious  principles  ex- 
amine well  their  position,  and  see  that  they  fall  not  back 
from  that  holy  vocation  wherewith  their  fathers  were 
called.  Let  them  not  desire  to  dwell  in  their  ceiled 
houses,  while  the  house  of  God  lies  waste :  but  with  holy 
magnanimity  and  true  devotedness  of  heart,  and  in  the  pure 
Christian  zeal  of  the  Lord's  own  begetting,  individually 
seek  to  know  their  calling,  and  therein  abide. 


THE  END. 


NOTICE  TO  THE  READER. 

The  author,  in  preparing  this  work  for  a  second 
edition,  has  believed  it  best  to  close  the  volume  with 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century ;  leaving  to  the 
pen  of  future  history  the  delineation  of  the  important 
events  connected  with  the  two  great  manifestations  of 
defection  from  the  faith  of  our  forefathers,  which  have 
occurred  in  our  own  day. 

(413) 


Date  Due 


